The Difference A Moment Makes
by Sessy-sama
Summary: What if Hiashi was the one to die instead of Hizashi? How would the clan react? How would Hinata and Neji grow up? This delves into the world that didn't happen because of one decision. Hyuuga centered begins with child Neji and Hinata. Rating to change.
1. Promises

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

* * *

Neji did his best to stay next to his father as they walked up to the head family house. He hated that place, and, as much as he didn't want to admit it, it scared him. The first time he'd been brought he'd received the seal on his head, and because of what he saw happen to his father, he knew what it did. He told himself he would be fine, though in the back of his mind he added, _only if Hiashi-sama isn't there_. The look on his father's face told him this was a serious visit, and that scared Neji even more.

Hiashi wasn't the one to meet them though, and the talking was in whispers too low for Neji to hear properly. Finally, Hizashi leaned down to his son and took him by the shoulders. "Neji, something very bad has happened. I have to go meet with the clan council for a while. This woman," Hizashi nodded to an older woman a few feet from them, "is going to take you to Hinata-sama. I want you to stay with her and watch over her. If she needs anything you're to help her, and stay with her until I come for you. Do you understand?"

Neji nodded, very confused by what was happening. Hinata was cute and seemed nice, but he'd never before been alone with her. "I understand, Dad, but what's going on?"

"I'll explain to you later," he replied, gently pushing Neji in the direction of the woman. "Go and stay with Hinata-sama, now."

"Yes, Dad."

Neji followed the woman through the halls of the house. His confusion only increased as he searched around. Everyone here looked sad or worried, but no one was talking so he couldn't overhear anything, and the woman never spoke to him. When they turned a corner Neji saw Hinata huddled against the wall staring at a room people were going in and out of. She looked just as scared and confused as he felt and somehow that made him relax for the first time since coming to this place.

The woman guiding him did not approach Hinata, but instead moved aside and waved Neji forward, as if she didn't want to even get near the terrified girl. Neji pulled at the sleeves of his kimono as he approached Hinata. He had seen her and been introduced, but never before had he talked to her, especially alone. But Hinata was just a kid, like him, and maybe she knew more than he did and could tell him what was going on. By the look on her face, Neji knew that wasn't true.

"Hi—Hinata-sama?" Neji whispered reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder.

A high-pitched squeak was her only response before Hinata buried her face against her knees and pulled into herself.

"Hinata-sama, I'm sorry," Neji whispered quickly, worried someone might think he was being mean to her. No one seemed to take notice of them, though. "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

One finger pulled the middle of Hinata's kimono down between her legs just enough for her to peak out.

"Hinata-sama," he said gently, afraid of scaring her again if he spoke too loudly. "I'm Neji. We met before. I really didn't mean to scare you."

Her small head slowly lifted, though her body remained tense as she looked at him. "Neji . . . kun?"

He smiled and nodded. "Right. My dad said to come and stay with you while all the adults are talking."

"Fa–father's gone." Her voice was so tiny Neji almost didn't hear it all.

Inwardly Neji was happy to hear that he wouldn't have to worry about seeing Hiashi today. "Where'd he go?"

Her body scrunched down till her mouth was half blocked by her arms. "I don't know. They won't tell me. But Father's going to be really mad when he gets back. They keep taking his stuff."

"Keep taking his stuff?" Neji followed her gaze to the room she had previously been staring at. People went in and out constantly, removing boxes full of various things. "Is that your dad's room?"

Hinata nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around her knees.

"Why are they moving it all then?"

"I don't know. I want them to stop. It's Father's, not theirs. But I'm scared to go near them." Neji could see tears clouding her already pale eyes.

"I'll go with you," Neji said cheerfully hoping to stop her from crying. "Dad said I'm supposed to help you if you need anything. So, I'll go with you and we can ask them together."

"You–you'll go with me?" Hinata asked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Yeah, come on." Neji held out his small hand for her to take.

Hinata looked from his face to his hand several times before tenuously reaching out and placing her tiny palm into his. Neji gently helped her stand and squeezed her hand to try and comfort her. Hinata returned his smile with one of her own shy ones. At least he got her smiling instead of crying.

Even though the walk was a short one, Neji kept their pace very slow so Hinata wouldn't become more frightened. Her grip on his hand was tight and she did her best to keep herself hidden behind his arm the closer they got to Hiashi's room. All the people who had so far been ignoring the two children stilled as they reached the doorway and looked in.

"Ex–ex–ex . . ." Hinata struggled to bring her voice out of her small body.

"Excuse me," Neji said for her, pulling Hinata beside him but wrapping the hand he held with his other to keep her calm. "Hinata-sama says you shouldn't be moving this since it's Hiashi-sama's." His voice broke slightly at the shocked and nervous looks the adults were passing between each other. "Unless you . . . have a reason?"

A silent conference was being held in the adult's gazes and ended when one of the younger women set down what she was packing and approached them. Neji could feel Hinata tense as she returned to her hiding place behind him.

"You two should go and play outside. It's too nice a day not to enjoy." Despite his age it wasn't hard to see how strained the woman's smile was.

"But-but this is Father's . . . and he'll . . . mad . . . when he . . . back."

Even for Neji, who was still holding onto her hand, most of Hinata's sentence was inaudible. But the point was made, and he knew she was trying hard to speak up.

Another silent conversation was held between the adults. The woman turned back to them with her faulty smile. "We're moving this for Hiashi-sama. You see, he no longer needs these things here."

"Why!" Hinata squeaked loud enough for the whole room to hear, only to quickly lift her free hand and cover her mouth in apology.

There was no conversing this time. The woman's body tensed and she waved the two children out of the room as quickly as she could, placing a hand on their backs, once in the hall, and near pushing them away from Hiashi's room.

"You two need to go play outside. We have much to do. Stay out here, and don't come back inside." Once they were on the front porch the woman turned closed the doors with slam.

Neji could hear Hinata sobbing even before he turned around to find tears falling down her now flushed cheeks. "Why are they taking Father's things? Where's Father?" Short coughing fits choked her words off.

Neji looked around not sure what to do to help her, but no one was nearby to ask. "Hi–Hinata-sama, it'll be okay. They said they were doing it for your dad. So he already knows about it. He won't be mad when he comes back." A worried grin pulled at his mouth.

"I want my father," she whimpered beneath her sobs.

Neji looked on her reddened, tear-streaked face wishing he had some idea what to do to comfort her. "I'll stay with you," he blurted out.

The small girl's crying quieted, though the tears continued to trail down her face.

Neji softened his voice and helped her to sit on the smooth wood porch. "I'll stay with you."

"Promise?"

He nodded. "I promise."

* * *

Hizashi followed his father through the main house till they reached one of the back rooms normally kept locked. His relationship with his father was just as strained as the one with his brother was . . . had been. His father knocked on the door in front them before entering.

Hizashi looked around the room, carefully avoiding the sheet in the center. Atsuko, Hiashi's wife, knelt next to the sheet. Her eyes were bloodshot and the skin around her nose was raw from crying. Yumi, Kanjiro, and Takeru, three of the deciding members of the clan council, sat on the opposite side of the sheet.

There was no one else in the room, and no where else for Hizashi to look but at the center. To the white sheet pulled over his brother's body to the neck, revealing only a small hint of skin before a white cloth covered his face. His dead face.

Hizashi may not have had a very brotherly relationship with Hiashi, but what he had done, for his daughter and for the clan, for that Hizashi looked on the lifeless body before him with nothing but respect and familial grief. Hizashi's father had closed the door behind them and already taken a seat next to Atsuko by the time Hizashi found himself able to approach his brother's body. He followed a motion from his father and sat next to him, waiting to be told what would happen now.

"The council has come to a decision," Kanjiro began. "One that we hope you will accept, Hizashi."

Hizashi focused his eyes on the white fabric covering his brother's feet. "In place of the clan head, the council's decisions are binding."

"This is not an ordinary decision." Yumi had spoken this time. Her voice was softer and Hizashi could hear the grief hidden behind her calm tone. Yumi was Atsuko's mother, as well as a member of the council, thus she was much closer to the main family than even Hizashi. "We have decided _not_ to return Hyobe-sama to clan head."

Hizashi's head snapped up to look at his father. "What do you mean? Hinata-sama's far too young, and the clan head must be a blood descendant of the main family. Atsuko-sama cannot take over."

Hyobe cleared his throat and sighed. "Indeed, that would leave _you_ as the only one fulfilling the needed requirements."

A firm, bitter glaze covered Hizashi's previously calm eyes. "I was made a member of the branch family, as was my son. We are no longer allowed to be a part of the main family."

"What the council wishes," Yumi interrupted with her saddened voice that forced Hizashi to relax himself, "is that you become regent over Hinata-sama until she comes of age."

"Regent?"

Kanjiro nodded. "You would be made acting clan head until Hinata-sama is capable of taking her birthright. This, however, requires that you also teach Hinata-sama what she'll need to know. You'll be expected to train, teach, and guide her just as we would've expected Hiashi-sama to do."

"You want me to become her father?" Hizashi wasn't sure if he was more shocked or disgusted. To think, they were speaking of replacing Hiashi with him right over his brother's body.

"She must be raised to take her place. She needs to look up to someone in order to do this. You and your family would be moved to the main house."

"You want _me_ to take _her father's_ place."

Kanjiro continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "You, Hizashi, will be allowed to learn the main family techniques so as to teach Hinata-sama. And you'll be given all the freedom and responsibilities that come with clan head."

Hizashi couldn't take it anymore and was on his feet before he even realized how angry he truly was. "Have you even told Hinata her father is dead? Have you told her Hiashi's dead and you're going to replace him with me? We may look identical, but the girl will know the difference between her own father and me!"

His hands clenched and unclenched in a hollow attempt to resume control. Where had all that anger come from? It was more than just disgust at their proposition that had fueled his outburst. Perhaps, despite his own preconceptions, Hizashi could feel more than just familial grief. Perhaps, just perhaps, Hizashi knew that his only brother had died and now lay at his feet.

Kanjiro glanced over to Hizashi's father who nodded his assent to some prior agreement, and Takeru quietly slipped out of the room. Hyobe was the first to break the uneasy silence following this scene. "We expected something like this. That is why the final decision will be yours alone, Hizashi. If you agree we will begin moving you and your family immediately. If you refuse then I will take place as clan head until Hinata comes of age."

Hyobe turned to face his son directly. "Think hard on this Hizashi. We're not trying to replace Hiashi, but I'm not what Hinata will need."

Hizashi returned to his place beside his brother's body. "Byakugan has been taken care of?" He knew that if he didn't change the subject now his emotions would take over again.

Yumi nodded. "Hyobe-sama placed the seal on Hiashi-sama before he died. The Raikage will find nothing of the Hyuuga bloodline in him."

Hizashi spared a glance at Atsuko only to find silent sobs raking her tender frame. Hinata would grow up to be like her; she already resembled Atsuko more than Hiashi. Surely Atsuko and Hyobe would be enough to take care of preparing the next clan head. A substitute Hiashi was not necessary.

A knock on the door drew everyone's attention as the disappearing screen revealed Takeru and Neji.

"What's Neji doing here?" Hizashi demanded.

Takeru stepped and cleared away allowing them so catch the hint of a smaller body hiding behind Hizashi's son. "He refused to leave her."

As Neji entered he could see his small hand holding onto another. Neji had taken his directions quite seriously it seemed. Slowly, Hinata peaked out from behind her living shield only to look upon Hiashi's covered body.

"Hinata," Atsuko called in a loving voice, beckoning her daughter to her. "Hinata, we have to tell you something."

The young girl didn't move. Her body was rigid and clenching onto Neji's shoulder. Hizashi could see the fear consuming her gentle eyes.

"Hinata, please come here." Atsuko's voice was breaking at the sight of her daughter.

"Fa—I want Father." How such a tiny voice had made it to his ears Hizashi would never know.

Tears fell freely down Atsuko's cheeks now. "Hinata, Father . . . Father can't come."

"Why?"

"Father's gone."

Atsuko's sorrow fed Hinata's fear and Hinata's fear only increased the guilt and grief Atsuko bore. It was a cycle that nothing could break without breaking both of them first. "When's he coming home?"

Hyobe stood and approached his two grandchildren. Gently, as if both Neji and Hinata would wilt beneath his touch, he separated them enough to look directly at Hinata. Hizashi could see the worry in Neji's young face, the concern for the tiny girl still holding his hand.

"He's never coming home, Hinata, because he's dead." Hizashi watched as Hinata's chest rose and fell with each quickening breath. "Hinata, it's time for you to say good-bye to your father."

Hyobe moved away enough for her to see Hiashi's body once again. The girl's eyes glistened with unshed tears as her body shook and cried in itself. Her hand ripped from Neji's protective grip and she ran to Hiashi.

"Father! Father! Father!" Hinata grabbed Hiashi's shoulder and rocked him with all the strength her body could force. The small cloth covering his face began slipping off before Atsuko could subdue the screaming child. Her cries continued, now muffled by her mother's chest.

Hizashi hurried to reach his own child, who stared dumbfounded next to Hyobe. Neji's eyes were not on Hizashi, but Hinata, as she wept and raged in her mother's embrace. "Dad, what's—"

Hizashi silenced his son with a shake of his head. He knelt so as to look Neji in the face. "Hiashi-sama has died. It's best if we go for now."

Neji shook his head before Hizashi could even move his weight to stand. "I promised I'd stay with her. You said I was supposed to take care of her. She was scared, so I promised."

Hyobe placed a hand on Hizashi's shoulder. "I can teach her to be a clan head, but I've already raised children and none too successfully. What she needs now is more than I can give her."

Protect Hinata-sama. He had told Neji to do that, but that was their duty. Neji had promised more than duty. Hizashi looked back to the sobbing child. Hinata needed more than duty.

"Neji," Hizashi said, his voice finally completely calm. "We'll be moving over here very shortly."

Hyobe eyed his son cautiously. "Are you certain of this, Hizashi? There's no turning back."

"The only thing I'm certain of right now is that I have always taught my son never to break his word. And my son has promised to stay with Hinata-sama."


	2. Moving In

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

* * *

For once Neji was happy to be returning to the main house. Hizashi had been spending the last three days going back and forth, while Neji and his mother had been packing things to be moved. Neji didn't quite understand what was going on, but Hizashi said things would calm down once they had moved.

Neji tugged at his father's kimono as they walked. "Dad, why are we moving? I liked our house."

"We have to move. Things will be changing for us now." Hizashi didn't look to his son when he spoke.

"What kind of changes?"

His father's eyes were different today, Neji saw. They looked tired. Hizashi stopped and halted Neji with him. They were both still for a moment before Hizashi knelt down and took Neji by the shoulders. "Neji, you remember how I told you it's our duty to protect Hinata?"

He nodded. "You said I should take care of Hinata-sama. Are we not, now?" Neji hoped that wasn't changing. He wanted to help Hinata since she was so sad the last time he saw her. He was planning on trying to cheer her up once they got to the main house.

"We still are, but you don't have to call her that anymore. That's one of the changes. You can call her Hinata-chan. And people are going to call you Neji-sama from now on. That's another change."

"Why are they going to call me that?"

"Because you're my son, and I'm taking over as clan head now that Hiashi-sama is gone. I'll have a lot of responsibilities now, and I want to trust that you'll do everything you can to help Hinata. This isn't an easy time for her."

Neji nodded, though he still didn't quite understand everything. He did understand the part about taking care of Hinata, and that his father knew he was capable of helping her. Neji couldn't stop the small swell of pride at being entrusted with something important.

They began walking again and soon the main house could be seen in the distance. Two figures were waiting, a woman, whom Neji vaguely recalled from the day Hiashi died, and Hinata. He could tell by the way that she was trying to hide behind the woman's legs. Then, without warning, Hinata bolted into the house, her small hands covering her face.

Neji wanted to go after her, but Hizashi placed a hand on Neji's shoulder to keep him in place. Once they were close, Neji saw the same tired expression on the woman's face as he'd seen on his father's.

"Hizashi," the woman said with a half bow, which Neji and Hizashi returned. "Forgive her, she thought . . . from a distance, that is, she thought Hiashi was coming home. When I explained, she ran away."

Hizashi closed his eyes and sighed, almost as if he had expected it. "It's all right, Atsuko. It'll take time for her to adjust to us living here. But, hopefully, Neji can help with that." Neji felt his father's hand squeeze his shoulder affectionately. Hizashi knelt down again and looked from Neji to the woman. "Neji, this is Atsuko, Hinata's mother. You are to do whatever she tells you to, is that understood?"

Neji nodded and bowed to Atsuko again. "It's nice to meet you, Atsuko-sama."

Atsuko nodded and a faint smile graced her lips. "And you, Neji-kun."

"Neji, why don't you go and find Hinata and stay with her while I discuss a few things with Atsuko. Maybe ask her to give you a tour of the house."

"She probably ran to Hiashi's study. Hinata seems to have made it her own little haven." Atsuko waved one of the movers to them. "Neji-kun, this man will take you there, so you won't get lost."

The man bowed in acknowledgement and held out his hand. "Come with me, Neji-sama."

Neji wrinkled his nose ever so slightly when the man added the –sama suffix to his name. It just felt wrong to have an adult call him that. Idly, he wondered if Hinata felt the same way. The man directed him through the maze of halls (at least to Neji) that made up the main house until they finally reached the hall he'd been taken to the day Hiashi died. Like the woman on that day, his guide didn't approach the study himself, but motioned which one Hinata would be in, not that Neji didn't remember.

He waited by the door for a moment, a little nervous about seeing her, but the faint wisp of crying that carried from inside helped Neji gain the courage he needed. He turned and stayed in the doorway to scan the room for his cousin. Unlike the last time, the room was stripped clean now. All that remained to remind anyone what the room had once been used for was a large cedar desk, well-polished for appearance sake, but obviously long used as could be seen by the nicks and gouges on the surface. With the shelves bare and the walls blank, the room felt as dead as its previous master.

The only sign of life left was a sliver of cloth visible just beneath the desk and the soft, erratic sobs of a wounded child. Neji approached the desk slowly so as to not frighten her, and –tentatively– he called out to her, "Hinata-sama?" When he received no response, Neji moved to the other side of the desk and looked upon the hiding girl.

Hinata sat with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, which were drawn close to her chest. Her face looked like the adults, that strange tiredness that seemed to dull the life from their eyes. Her skin was rubbed raw from days of crying and glowed a brighter red as tears once again wet her abused cheeks.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji reached out again, placing his small hand on her arm. He honestly couldn't image what it would be like if he lost his father, and then have to see his face on someone else. Constantly being reminded her father was no longer there in that way had to be painful.

Her bloodshot eyes were almost too much to look at, but Neji didn't turn away from her. "Neji . . . kun," Hinata hiccuped beneath her sobs. "They keep taking him away."

"Taking him away?" Neji repeated, confused. "Who?"

"Father. They took everything." Hinata's head fell back into the corner of the desk, and her tiny hand brushed the smooth cedar desk like it was sacred. "It's not theirs, but they took it."

Neji looked around the room again, wondering what it must have looked like when Hiashi had used it every day. What it must mean to Hinata to have it stripped of everything that was her father. The desk seemed to be the only thing left for Hinata to connect with, and if they took that away it would just be another room with no life and no meaning.

The last thing it looked like Hinata wanted to do was leave this room, so Neji wasn't about to ask for a tour of the main house. Maybe when she didn't look so miserable. But he felt the need to try and get her talking and maybe cheered up a bit. "You know, they called me Neji-sama when I came here. It felt really weird. Is it weird when people call you Hinata-sama?"

Hinata wiped her cheeks off and turned to look at her cousin with a slight confusion. "Everyone always calls me Hinata-sama."

"Right," Neji said awkwardly. Of course, she'd be used to it by now. "Dad says I don't have to call you Hinata-sama anymore. He said I can call you Hinata-chan."

"Why?"

Neji paused, trying to figure out an answer. "I don't really know. All Dad told me was that I could. We're moving here, so maybe it's cause we'll live together. Like brother and sister."

Hinata sniffed, but it seemed the tears had ended finally. "You're going to be my brother?"

"I guess I am. Kinda." Neji never had a sibling before, but he knew that they were supposed to take care of each other. He felt just as proud at the idea of being a big brother and protecting Hinata as when Hizashi had complimented him. "I'll take care of you."

Hinata stared at him, as if she couldn't decide whether or not to actually speak up. Finally she managed to squeak out a question in her soft voice. "Can I call you Neji-niisan, then?"

Neji smiled, excited to see her no longer crying and really enjoying the sound of his new name. _Neji-niisan_. "Yeah, you can." For a moment there was a hint of a pull at her lips, but it was too faint to know for sure what it was. Neji just smiled back for her.

* * *

Hizashi watched his son be led away and let out an almost unnoticeable sigh. The boy didn't truly understand what was happening or the inconceivable ramifications it would have on the rest of his life. Hizashi had come too far to change his mind, and he tried his best to remember this was all for the Hinata's wellbeing, but it was difficult to fully ignore the fact he had agreed to –in essence– replace his brother. Of course Hizashi refused to become Hinata's father, but he would do his best as her uncle and guardian.

When Neji was out of sight Atsuko sat down on the porch and closed her eyes. She looked far more tired than the rest of the family, but then along with Hinata, Atsuko was suffering the most from Hiashi's death. Even so her complexion had paled to near white and any exertion showed in her slender frame.

"How are you dealing with everything, Atsuko?" Hizashi asked, choosing to stay standing in front of her.

"Forgive me, Hizashi, I fear I'll be asking much from you from now on. Ever since they took him away—" Atsuko stalled, her face looking as if she didn't know whether to get sick or cry. Hyuugas normally controlled themselves better than what she displayed, and even though Atsuko grieved deeply, her open weakness (as the second most powerful Hyuuga next to Hizashi himself now) told more of her trouble than she said.

Hizashi lowered to one knee so that he was level with her again and brushed her hair away from her face. Despite her pale complexion Atsuko's skin was hot to the touch, and being so close Hizashi could hear how shallow her breaths came. "Atsuko, you should be resting if you're ill."

"Hinata shouldn't see her mother sick right after her father died. She needs assurances and I'm doing my best to give that to her. In this condition I can't do much." Atsuko was so obviously in pain that Hizashi wondered how long it would be before she could no longer put up even the weak front she maintained at the moment. "If Naomi and Neji could keep her active," she continued, "if they could get her out of the house and doing things again. Anything to distract her."

Hizashi nodded his understanding. His own appearance would be painful on the girl at this point, so it would be foolish to attempt to help her himself. But the others could help Hinata as she dealt with her grief. It was amazing how one man's death could cause so much turmoil in such a short time. How many lives had been uprooted already because of the loss of the clan head?

"Come Atsuko, Neji's with Hinata so why don't you rest now." It wasn't as much a suggestion as an underlying insistence. The sooner she became healthy again, the better it would be for Hinata. Hizashi held out his hand and carefully helped his sister-in-law up.

"Perhaps you're right. As long as someone remains with Hinata." Atsuko quietly allowed herself to be led inside, not protesting to the helping arm Hizashi offered or his request that her mother come to check on her. Yumi was well-regarded as the best healer in the clan, Atsuko herself was probably the closest match to her mother's skill.

On his way back to oversee the moving progress and meet his wife, who would come with the last of their things, Hizashi stopped by Hiashi's old office to make sure the kids weren't still there (and if they were to get them out). Like Atsuko said, it would be best if they could keep Hinata active with the family through all the changes, then perhaps it wouldn't be as difficult for her to accept them living in the main house.

They'd see the first test of it that night. In truth, Hizashi and Naomi might have the hardest time adjusting after living so long with the prejudices and division of the clan. The children were too young and still didn't understand what it meant to be main or branch. To them, they were just cousins.

Hizashi suppressed the disappointment when he heard voices coming from inside the office, though at least he didn't hear any crying. He'd just have to take things slowly and have plenty of patience. Taking a step past the doorway, Hizashi looked for the source of the voices he'd heard and found a hint of feet peeking out from beneath the desk. It felt strange being in his brother's office and knowing it would never again be used by him. Hizashi pushed the twinge of pain back and focused on the children.

"Neji, Hinata, are you two in here?" Hizashi asked in order to get their attention.

Neji was the only one to pop up from behind the desk. From the spot at the door Hizashi could see Hinata's feet curl under the desk at his question. "Dad. We're still here."

"I thought you were going to ask Hinata to show you around, Neji. You'll need to learn your way." And surely it wasn't healthy for Hinata to lock herself in this barren room.

Neji fidgeted and glanced down at Hinata for a moment. "I was going to, but Hinata-chan was scared they'll take the desk if she leaves. So we're staying here."

"Why doesn't she want them to take the desk?" Normally he'd have asked Hinata herself, considering he would be her acting guardian now, but perhaps it would be best she wasn't forced to see her father's face on someone else just yet.

His son looked down to her again before answering; at least he seemed to be making a connection with Hinata. "She doesn't want them to take all of Hyuuga-sama's things."

The sharp intake of breath Hizashi couldn't stop went unnoticed by his son, but he still couldn't help but feel unsettled. Hizashi had been so adamant that he would not be considered merely a replacement for his brother that he had insisted on having a different room for his office. Therefore everything pertaining to the duties of Hyuuga-sama had been moved, and most of Hizashi's personal mementos had been packed up for storage or sent to Atsuko. Since it was Hiashi's office none of them had considered what Hinata would think of it or whether she would want anything. Obviously, they were mistaken to overlook her.

A heavy guilt weighed down each step as Hizashi slowly approached the desk and knelt on one knee in front of it. A thin piece of wood separated him from his young, frightened and grief-stricken niece, and while a part of him desperately wanted to comfort her –remembering how terribly she cried when they brought her to see Hiashi's body– this way was the best. He would leave the consoling to Neji.

"Forgive me, Hinata. We didn't think of you, and I'm sorry. Would you like to have this room and anything that was taken from it?" Hizashi kept his voice soft and calm, betraying none of the pain still stinging him.

For a long moment the room was silent, the only sound a slight shifting of cloth beyond the wooden barrier. Finally, Hizashi heard a faint voice speak up. "I can have . . . everything?"

Hizashi nodded, though she couldn't see. That Hinata had spoken to him was enough of a first step. "Yes, you may have anything that was taken and this room will be yours for any purpose you choose."

There was the sound of tiny fingers scratching against wood before Hinata was willing to reply again. Her voice was a little stronger this time, and no longer holding the fear it had before. "Promise? Anything?"

The girl sounded so frail, and yet she was just as stubborn as her father, even if all she could do was hide beneath a desk until someone noticed her. Maybe it was Hinata's physical weakness that made her act passively. Hizashi could still remember those first two years she suffered from constant fevers and coughing fits. The last time he'd watched her train with her father made it clear how detrimental the loss of those two developmental years actually was on her body. She was considerably weak for her age and had difficulty with her coordination, and while it was understandable, for the heir it was not acceptable. The council had considered her to be growing unfit –her timid disposition didn't help matters– and yet in her own way Hinata understood how she could take control.

"You have my word as your uncle, anything." Hizashi smiled just a little as he said that. He'd never called himself her uncle, nor really ever thought of himself as such, and yet here they all were thrust into a family relationship they'd never expected to nurture before. Behind the desk, Neji watched Hinata and mirrored his father's warm expression.

The scratching turned into tapping as Hinata considered Hizashi's offer. He waited patiently for her, knowing better than to rush her trust or acceptance. The hint of her Hizashi could see from under the desk suddenly disappeared and Hinata's head rose up just enough for her eyes to see over. She studied him for a minute (perhaps comparing him to her father) before dropping down into her hiding place again.

He wasn't certain what she had decided, or whether it would be advantageous for him to remain, but a tiny voice finally answered his patience with a simple, "Thank you."

* * *

As he lay in bed, Neji's face stretched from the strength of his yawn, revealing the little white lie he told his mother about not being tired yet. The day had been so eventful it was hard to believe it was already time for him to go to sleep. Considering he was a big brother now, certainly that meant he was old enough to stay up longer.

He'd spent nearly the whole day with Hinata, which meant that all the boxes for his room remained packed up and stacked against the wall. It felt strange being in a new room and a new house, not knowing where anything was if he needed it (he barely knew how to get to his parent's room). Still, his father had told him he'd get used to it, and in time it would feel just like their old home.

Neji pulled the cover up past his chin and rolled away from the door so the light from the hall wouldn't be so bothersome. He might've had to go to bed, but the adults were still at work unpacking and rearranging the main house to accommodate the new additions. That meant noise and light, though it seemed his parents were keeping the majority of the activity away from his room.

He was just starting to doze off when he heard a light knocking on his door, so faint he didn't realize what it was until the second time it sounded. Sitting up, Neji turned to the door and rubbed the struggling sleep from his eyes. "Yes?"

When the door opened, the light blinded him for a minute before his eyes adjusted. It wasn't surprising since there wasn't a lot in the doorway to block it. Just a small, frightened looking little girl.

"Hinata-chan?" Neji asked cautiously. She looked like she had early that morning and was obviously trying to keep from crying. It was painful to look at her and not do anything. Getting out of bed, Neji ushered his cousin in and closed the door in case any of the adults came by and saw them. Since he didn't know why Hinata was scared he didn't want any of the adults to get the wrong idea.

"Neji-niisan . . . can I . . . can I stay with you?" Her voice squeaked and cracked in her attempt to not cry. "I want to be with Mama, but . . . but—" Hinata finally broke into tears against his chest, grasping his sleeves with all the might her tiny hands could muster as she wept.

Neji wasn't sure what to do (somehow he always found himself uncertain when she cried) and, after a hesitant moment, he gently wrapped his arms around her. "Hinata-chan, what's wrong with your mom?"

"Sh-She's sick," Hinata whimpered into his robe. "She's going to Father. She's gonna leave me alone. I heard them talking."

Neji wasn't old enough to understand more than what he was told, and the fear and panic that consumed his little cousin was enough to make him believe anything she said. If he was older, he might have thought to ask what they said, who said it, or how Atsuko had gotten sick, but Neji was just four-years-old and wanted nothing more than to stop Hinata from crying.

"You can stay with me," Neji whispered soothingly. He remembered the last time he was upset his mother would stroke his hair, so he mimicked the tender action. "Anytime, you can stay. I'm your big brother now, remember."

Hinata finally looked up to him again as the last of her tears finished the familiar track down her cheeks. Neji'd begun to get used to what fear, pain, and grief looked like in her eyes, but there was something new when she gazed at him this time. There was hope – hope and comfort. "Really? You won't . . . leave me?"

"Nope. I promise," he said, shaking his head. "Come here." He carefully led his sister-cousin to the futon and covered her up before lying down next to her. Immediately she crawled over to him and clung to the front of his robe. She wasn't crying anymore and even seemed to relax the longer Neji held her.

It appeared impossible that this tiny, fragile little girl was destined to become the head of the clan one day. Hiashi had always terrified Neji, and even his father seemed to dislike going to see him. How was Hinata supposed to become like that? If his father and her father were brothers and ended up not wanting to see each other, would Neji and Hinata become like that when they grew up?

The two children slowly fell into a content sleep against one another with the simple belief that they weren't alone. Be they siblings, cousins, or nothing at all, they were not alone.


	3. Changes

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

* * *

Hizashi leaned over his new desk, a hand shadowing his eyes as he rubbed his temples in a vain attempt to remove the stress building there. He knew that becoming acting clan head wouldn't be easy, and that this overload of laws and training and responsibilities would ebb as soon as he adjusted to his new role, but that didn't take away the current strain he felt building beneath the surface. Half of his day consisted of training with his father to learn the main family techniques (which he was now expected to learn and master before Hinata came of age and skill to learn them from him and Hyobe), and the rest of the day left him learning every law the clan followed in case a judgement was needed by the clan head. Hiashi's previous aids took care of the smaller tasks for the time being, allowing Hizashi the chance to breathe even if only a little bit.

Naomi proved to be just as efficient and commanding as ever, taking control of the entire move and finding her position within the household. As his wife, Naomi gained a great deal of power for a branch member, but because Atsuko was still alive Naomi was not the head of house activities. Not officially at least. In reality Naomi was quickly learning exactly what would be needed of that position and executed those duties with utmost haste. The main house lost more than its head when Hiashi died.

After two weeks, Atsuko was now bedridden most of the day and only left her room for short walks to keep her body moving – at least somewhat. What worried people the most was how strikingly similar this ailment was to the one she suffered while and after she was pregnant with Hinata, and also (as Yumi informed them) an illness Atsuko suffered when she herself was a child. They had thought it was only a coincidence that Hinata had been sick just as her mother had been when Atsuko was born, and that the trouble Atsuko suffered post-partum was merely complications from a difficult birth. Now, they were looking at this illness as possibly a chronic, re-occurring disease, and if the similarities between mother and child were more than coincidence, then it was a dangerous possibility that Hinata suffered from it as well. If that was the truth, then it was imperative to find a cure (or at least control) for the disease or its symptoms. Hinata was the last living heir to the main family bloodline left unsealed. It simply wasn't an option to lose her.

For now the fevers Atsuko developed came and went, but it was the coughing fits and nausea that scared Yumi and the other healers (in and out of clan). It was almost impossible to get Atsuko to keep her food down, and the constant coughing and convulsions left her tired and her throat bloody raw. They began keeping an IV drip in her to stave off dehydration and included nutrients through the same method to keep her strength up. Some days she could walk around and converse with people easily, leaving the only proof of her illness the IV in her arm. On bad days though, Yumi refused even Hizashi to enter and see her daughter's condition, but the sounds of pained coughs and crying left little to the imagination.

And all this, piling on only weeks after Hiashi's death, tolled hardest on the three-year-old girl set in a whirlwind of unwanted and unexplainable change. Even Hizashi couldn't deny that if he had not agreed to take on the position and his family hadn't moved to the main house, Hinata would have suffered far greater than what she did now. The isolation she would have been faced with, her father gone and her mother's state undetermined, what child could face that easily (especially one as reserved and passive as Hinata)?

No, the reason she did well at all was obviously because of Neji's constant presence and attention. Naomi often helped out and engaged the children, but with all the work they had to adapt to, it was always Neji who made sure Hinata didn't isolate herself or hide away in her new room. She confided in him, and only him, and she listened to him when he suggested leaving the house for some playful spars or just time outside and away from the overly tense household. And every night after Naomi put the two to bed, Hinata would sneak out and run to Neji's room. Hizashi could understand her fear and need of comfort, so he didn't stop her nightly visits, but she was the heir to the clan and would have to learn independence early on, so neither did he allow Naomi to simply put her to bed with Neji. She needed him now, but Hizashi wanted to keep it as a temporary necessity.

Hizashi let his head fall back and roll lazily to try and relax the muscles in his neck. If only he had the time for some meditation he was sure those kinks and stresses would fade away for a while – unlike the piles of papers that littered his desk, or the boxes still half-unpacked and lining the shelves. Hizashi had never been partial to change, especially to the degree he'd been forced to deal with. He'd never liked disarray either though. If he wasn't exhausted every night Hizashi would have just sacrificed a night's sleep to put everything in order once and for all.

"Taking a break?" a whimsical voice asked from the doorway. Though the tone of the question was light, the voice had a certain calming effect on Hizashi and that alone told him who it was long before his pale gaze caught sight of the woman. Unlike his brother, Hizashi had the freedom to marry for love, so Hizashi and Naomi's connection was more than the companionship Hiashi and Atsuko had shared (not that the two hadn't come to care for each other deeply).

Taking a slow, deep breath, Hizashi let a gentle smile ease his features as his wife approached. "Just a moment to think, that's all. I seem to have too few of those already, and I've only been clan head for two weeks."

"You'll adapt and find more time for yourself when you do." Once close enough Naomi leaned down and rested her cheek against his for a moment. Hyuugas did not often show physical attraction or affection in public, so Hizashi and Naomi used this as their own way to show affection whenever they pleased while remaining within the limits of decorum.

Hizashi closed his eyes for a second to indulge in the feel of his wife so close by. If he could find some time to spend with her as well it would ease his stress considerably. How he'd missed her these past two weeks. "So what brought you by, my dear, or are you just 'taking a break' as well?"

"Actually," she started, a small smirk playing across her lips that could only warrant trouble, "I came to warn you."

Warn was never a word Hizashi wanted to hear. "Warn me about what, precisely?"

"It appears my cousin's boys have come looking for Neji, and they seem rather determined to find him after so long. So I thought I'd prepare you for –knowing them– anything."

What smile that had been on Hizashi's face vanished immediately at the news. "And here I thought being moved to the main house meant I got rid of the twin terrors."

"Hizashi," Naomi replied with a 'please don't exaggerate' tone in her voice, "the boys aren't that bad. And they mean well . . . most of the time."

The overstressed Hyuuga just sighed and shook his head. How the twins were related to Naomi (or the clan for that matter) was beyond him. They were so . . . unpredictable and not easily controlled. Hyuuga children tended to be better mannered than most, but those two thrived on breaking the rules. To see them was to know they were up to some kind of mischief. If only Neji didn't like to play with them. "Very well, just try and keep the chaos to a minimum. And remind them they're in the main house. I don't mind if the kids want to see them, but I don't want them wandering around with Hinata. If she's there they are to remain within the main house yards."

"Of course, Hizashi. I'll make sure the boys are on their best behavior, and even they know that they don't have the same leeway here as they do at the branch house. They're spirited, not stupid."

"Spirited . . . that's an interesting way to put it," Hizashi said with a knowing smirk.

Naomi smiled back before heading for the doorway. "Well, they are family."

* * *

"_Ne~ji~chan~!_" the two seven-year-old boys called in unison sing-song voices as Neji and Hinata come out to greet them. Everything about them was identical, right down to the tone and inflection of their voices. The only way anyone (besides their parents) could tell them apart was in the direction their hair was parted, and even that could be misleading some days. Neji knew how much the twins prided themselves in being inseparable to even the most trained eyes in the clan, one of the reasons his father seemed annoyed by them all the time.

"Osamu-kun, Isamu-kun!" Neji called back, happy to see some familiar faces. "Why are you here?"

The two boys looked at each other as if insulted, and the one on the right spoke up first. "Really, Aniki, Neji-chan sounds like he doesn't want us here."

The one on the left nodded and crossed his arms trying to look sagely. "Two weeks in the main house and he's already forgotten us lowly branch children. So sad, Otouto. So sad."

"Whatever will we do about it?" the younger brother asked, smirking ever so slightly.

"What else can we do, we must take him back home right away and remind him who he is." The elder nodded slowly as if his reply was profound, but the matching smirk took away quite a bit of the intended effect.

From behind Neji and Hinata, Neji's mother chose that moment to enter the children's conversation. Naomi placed a hand on Hinata's head but addressed the three boys. "You're all free to play together, but Neji, Hinata must stay within the limits of the main house, so she can't come with you if you want to go to the branch house with the twins."

For the first time the twin gazes locked on the half-hidden figure standing behind Neji, curiosity filling their colorless eyes. They had never met the heir to the clan, very few from the branch family had and never a child, save for Neji. So the boys were more than intrigued to see just who this girl was if she was destined to lead their clan.

Behind him, Neji could feel his cousin move further away from their prying eyes and quickly make the run from Neji to the much larger shield of Naomi's legs. Obviously while the twins were curious of her, Hinata had no idea what to make of them. He turned to check on her and seeing the fear on her face made him stall. Neji really wanted to go and play with the twins, since he hadn't really been able to just act like a kid since coming to the main house, but he was supposed to be Hinata's big brother now, so he couldn't very well leave her alone. Especially considering her mother's health.

But he really did want to play with Osamu and Isamu. Neji looked back and forth between the twins and Hinata and his mother. "What if we stayed here, can we play?"

Naomi nodded to her young son before turning her eyes on the two boys still trying to catch a decent glimpse of Hinata. "That is if you two can at least attempt to behave. Your antics won't be tolerated as well in the main house."

Osamu and Isamu straightened up and presented mirror salutes and mischievous smirks. "Understood, Aunt Naomi. We'll behave."

Whether his mother believed the boys or not she was at least letting them stay. Stepping aside, Naomi gently pushed her niece forward to let Neji handle the introductions. She left Hinata with a consoling statement (or perhaps a friendly warning), "It's all right, they're not as bad as they look."

The two boys wanted to protest, but Naomi was already back in the house. With the loss of her shield, Hinata scurried back to Neji, though she was beginning to sneak her head out to watch their new guests.

Well, now it was time to introduce everybody. Neji motioned from the twins to Hinata. "This is Hinata-chan, and Hinata-chan, this is . . ." he paused and took a moment to look between them. If everything was normal then the one on the right should be Osamu and the one on the left should be Isamu. They _should_ be. He pointed to the right boy then the left as he finished the introduction. "This is Osamu-kun and Isamu-kun."

Both boys smiled bright and broadly and a silent conversation passed within their shared glance. "It would be," the one on the left started.

"But it's not," the right one finished. "I'm Isamu."

"And I'm Osamu."

The two flourished their arms before them and gave Hinata two very exaggerated, yet identical bows. "Nice to meet you, Hinata-sama," they called in unison.

Out of the corner of his eye, Neji could see Hinata hesitantly nod to the two boys. All in all that wasn't a bad reaction from his little sister-cousin, especially considering their personalities.

"So," Osamu drew out the word to fill the empty silence surrounding the children. "What is there to do around here? Anything fun?"

"Or anything we can make fun?" Isamu added helpfully with just a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Neji thought as hard as a four-year-old could, but he hadn't been in the main house for that long. Half of his things were still in boxes, so they didn't have too much time to properly explore the area for fun places to play. "I don't know. We've sparred out here before." Neji's little nose wrinkled up as he tried to think of something that would entertain his rambunctious cousins.

"...know...un...be..."

Neji turned around, barely catching any of the tiny wisp of a voice coming from his little sister-cousin. "Hinata-chan?"

"I . . . might know," she whispered louder this time, though even that was still unheard by the twins mere feet away. "I kinda like it."

Neji wasn't sure what Hinata was talking about, but she knew the main house better than he did so he'd trust her. Besides, she was still a kid, it must be fun somehow. Neji smiled warmly, encouraging her to continue. "Where is it, Hinata-chan?"

The small girl stepped back, a little shocked at the sudden attention the rest of the children placed on her. She didn't seem confident enough to try speaking again, but in a rare burst of courage Hinata grabbed Neji's hand and tugged him around the twins and towards the far side of the main house's perimeter. Behind them the twins followed, just as confused and curious as Neji himself.

Hinata lead them around the side of the house and toward the back where the courtyard met with the surrounding forest. It was still technically on the main house land, but Neji knew they were probably pushing safe territory. The twins knew it too and were obviously pleased to be away from the prying (and scolding) eyes of the main family.

They had gone so far that Neji was about to ask Hinata where exactly they were going when a strange patch of land caught his eye. It looked like a garden, but how this was supposed to be fun Neji had no idea. It looked overgrown with weeds and (to be honest) pretty pathetic as far as he could tell. He'd seen smaller gardens at the branch house in far better condition than this plot of land. But surely Hinata had something in mind.

It wasn't Neji who first said anything though, as the twins quickly caught up with them when they stalled near the garden and surrounded the two younger children. "Hinata-sama, are you okay?" they asked in unison.

Sometimes it was creepy they could do that, but Neji's attention was distracted by what they asked and he quickly looked over to Hinata. She gnawed nervously on her bottom lip and tears already clouded her pale eyes. "Hinata-chan? What's wrong, Hinata-chan?"

". . . Mama," Hinata squeaked out, her voice choking in her throat as she tried to speak. ". . .'s Mama's . . . dying." Her tiny hands covered her face as the tears fell fast down now flushed cheeks.

Somehow Neji was helpless beside her again, never certain how best to calm her down when she cried like that. Though, he could understand what she meant a little. If it was her mother's, and her mother's been sick all this time, then no one's been tending the garden. It must be scary to watching everything around her parents disappearing and dying so quickly. Neji put his hand on her elbow, trying to get her to open up and look at him. "Hina—"

"Let's fix it then!" Isamu cheerily interrupted. His bright smile mirrored his brother's, both infectiously happy faces mere inches from the young heir.

Hinata peeked through her fingers, half-scared by the twins and half-curious by the sudden influx of optimism. Everyone in the main house had been so dismal and dreary; it was a strange and out-of-place sight. "Fix?"

"Of course," Osamu agreed, gently patting Hinata on the head. "All it needs is some water and a good weeding. We can do that."

Isamu nodded enthusiastically. "A water bucket and elbow grease will do the trick. Do you know where the yard stuff is kept?"

Neji watched as Hinata slowly dropped her hands and looked up at the twins with a strange expression on her face. It was a mix of bewilderment and something else Neji just couldn't place yet. Finally Hinata nodded to the boy's question, looking towards the compound momentarily.

"Good, then let go and get this fixed!" Isamu held out his hand to Hinata and smiled. "You can do it."

For a moment Neji just stared at his sister-cousin. He'd never, not once since coming to the main house, seen Hinata smile like she did when Isamu said that to her. As Isamu led Hinata back to the house, Osamu tapped Neji on the shoulder to urge him to follow. Neji was glad that someone had gotten Hinata to cheer up, but . . . _Neji_ was her brother now. Shouldn't he be the one to do that?

"Don't look so disappointed, Neji-chan. You'll make her sad again if she catches it," Osamu said quietly as Hinata and Isamu left hearing range.

The adults in the family had mentioned before that the twins were much more advanced in reading people than most their age, making the potential between them much anticipated, but Neji just found it annoying at times. One day he'd make sure to be better than them at that just so he could say the obvious when _they_ didn't want to hear it.

Neji shook his head in a childish attempt to rid his face of any remaining evidence before they met with Hinata again. He _was_ glad Hinata had cheered up, even if it was disappointing he hadn't done it. But Neji had no siblings and he'd never had to take care of anyone before, so nothing he did around her felt certain. Sometimes Hinata's reactions just confused him. "Why'd she smile like that?" Neji asked. Maybe Osamu would know better, being older than Neji and a brother himself.

Osamu looked down at Neji for a moment before focusing on the two children getting further away. "Maybe she's happy to be doing something. Don't know for sure. Why's it matter? She's just happy."

"But . . . we play and she didn't smile." Neji wanted to know why. More than just curiosity's sake, Neji wanted to be able to make her smile like that too. He was her brother. It was his job to take care of her and protect her.

The older boy seemed to think for a moment, his focus more on Neji than anything else. "I don't know how it is here, but Isamu and I have to do everything ourselves if we want things done. And when everything comes off perfectly, it feels good to know you did it. Even when we have to clean up afterwards, it can be fun knowing we were able to get rice stuck to the ceiling of the kitchen.

"Hinata-sama seemed so upset about the garden being messed up, maybe she never knew she can help bring it back to life. Heir or not, being useful is a good feeling." Osamu offered Neji a moment to digest his advice in a silence unusual for the rambunctious twin.

Even at the branch house Neji was expected to do some things on his own or with the other children. It had never occurred to him that Hinata wouldn't think the way he did, the way the branch children did, but Osamu was right. Neji had never actually seen Hinata do anything for herself. The servants stayed away most of the time when he and Hinata played together, but whenever she needed something, or was on her own, there was always a servant nearby to take care of her. Hinata was never truly alone, so why would she think to do anything herself?

The small boy was still deep in thought when they finally caught up with the others, who had already raided a small storage shed of gardening equipment. Hinata's tiny arms firmly held a large bucket against her body as she waddled across the wooden porch toward him. Right behind her, Isamu brandished a number of spades and a basket slung over his shoulder. It felt strange to see Hinata dolled up in her pretty kimono alongside Isamu in his usual training scrubs, especially since she seemed so thrilled to be there.

"Neji-niisan, help, help!" she called happily, offering the bucket to him and nearly tripping into it in the process. "We need water, right?"

Neji smiled back at her and accepted the oversized bucket. "Right, plants need water to get better." The encouragement only brightened the excited expression on his little sister-cousin, more than he even realized she could look. It was as if he was discovering an all new Hinata as she relaxed and played just like any other kid her age.

"I saw a faucet around the corner, Aniki," Isamu informed them as he handed over the basket to Hinata's now empty hands. "Be quick about it too, Hinata-sama and I will be waiting." The younger twin smirked devilishly, enjoying his chance to boss around his older brother. He took Hinata's hand again and led the way back to the garden, sending out one last dismissive wave to the two boys still on the porch.

"Maybe I should get a bucket of water to dump on his head, too," Osamu remarked with just the barest hint of annoyance. Sighing, he tugged Neji off to find the faucet before going to rejoin the other two.

Neji carried a few hand towels they found in the shed to clean up with while Osamu, who was bigger and more able, carried the water bucket. It felt a little strange seeing the twins being constructive in their play, but Neji chalked it up to them being older and so darn perceptive, even they could tell in this short time how much Hinata needed this. That or they knew they weren't going to get to play any other way so long as the clan heir was with them. Back at the garden Neji and Osamu both stopped and stared for a moment, not quite sure what to make of the scene before them.

Isamu sat, perhaps sulking (Neji wasn't sure though Osamu surely knew), in front of Hinata who looked amusingly guilty. Dust covered Hinata's pretty kimono, but as for Isamu . . . Isamu's entire shirt, most of his pants, and a good portion of his face and hair were covered in mud. Beneath them a large section of the garden lay in ruins, with what looked to be fallen branches from the nearby woods scattered around them. Hinata stood in front of Isamu trying, with the opposite results actually, to wipe off the mud from his cheeks.

"Hinata-sama slipped," Isamu said dryly, as if that explained the situation completely.

Finally unable to contain his amusement, Osamu let his laughter out full force. He lifted the water bucket tauntingly to his little brother with a merciless smirk glaring at the mud-covered boy. "Need some water, Otouto?"

Isamu scowled at his brother for a moment, but quickly changed his attitude and grinned. "Not at all, Aniki, now Hinata-sama can tell us apart." He turned back to Hinata and pointed to himself, then to his brother, saying, "Remember now, Isamu, Osamu. Isamu, Osamu."

Seeing Isamu no longer upset by his mud bath, Hinata quickly joined in, repeating, "Isamu, Osamu," right along with him. Neji readily followed Osamu and the others' laughter, none of them really remembering or caring why they'd come all that way as Isamu tried to get at least some of the mud from his hair and clothes.

"Hinata-sama!" a shrieking voice pulled all four children from their muddy efforts and to the two servants rushing toward them, none too pleased at what they saw. "Hinata-sama, Neji-sama, what's going on here?"

He heard Isamu and Osamu snicker at the 'Neji-sama' but the two quickly sobered at the tone the woman used. It was the tone usually heard when all their fun was about to be ruined, or caught depending on what they'd been doing. One of the servants hurried over to kneel in front of Hinata, brushing her kimono off and checking on the amount of mud caked on her hands and feet. "Hinata-sama, what's happened to you? You're filthy. What are you doing out here?"

Neji thought 'filthy' was a bit much. Honestly, compared to Isamu (who both servants avidly ignored) Hinata looked spotless. Okay, maybe her hands were a little dirty, but they were playing, what was wrong with that? Obviously a lot, Neji found out, as the other servant grabbed his hands and started wiping away the mud he'd pulled from Isamu's hair.

"You too, Neji-sama, you shouldn't be playing in the mud like this. Look at what's happened to Hinata-sama. And you two," the older woman scolded, white eyes leveling on the twins, "this is _not_ the branch house. What did you think you were doing?" Neji saw the twins simultaneously stick out their tongues at the women when they turned back to fuss over Neji and Hinata.

"But . . . he helped," Hinata tried to explain to the deaf ears of her servants. "We're playing."

"This is not playing, Hinata-sama," the woman continued reproaching them. With speed best attributed to her skills as a Hyuuga and not her age, the woman scooped Hinata up and glanced a silent message to the other to do the same to Neji as she headed back to the house. "You boys get back to the branch house now, and clean up before your parents see what you've been up to."

Hinata cried and wriggled in the woman's arms, whether from the woman's scolding or from being dragged away or maybe from everything all together Neji didn't know. He didn't understand anything at all, and it took a lot of big brother control not to throw a tantrum of his own, not that he wasn't doing his best to get out of this woman's grip. He'd played with Isamu and Osamu and gotten way dirtier than even what Isamu was right then and never gotten in too much trouble for it. So why were they dragging them off like the twins were bad kids they weren't supposed to play with? It didn't make sense and the more confused he got the more Neji struggled not to cry. It wasn't fair! What made it worse was Isamu and Osamu seemed to have expected this. Both boys watched them be taken away with a sad-ish, almost angry expression on their identical faces.

They were nearing the porch when the servant's grip loosened slightly and Neji struggled doubly hard to get out of her hold. "Atsuko-sama," the woman holding Hinata called out with genuine surprise. "You're feeling well enough to come outside?"

Neji twisted around enough to see Atsuko, Yumi, and his mother all approaching the unusual commotion. Beside her, Atsuko rolled along a small IV that was discretely attached to her right arm beneath the sleeve of her outer coat.

"Mama! Mama!" Hinata called, crying and reaching out for her mother from the restraint of the servant's grip. Atsuko sat down (with some aid from her mother) at the edge of the porch and reached out to bring her daughter into her lap, muddy hands, feet, and all.

"Atsuko-sama, your clothes," the servant remarked, but reluctantly gave over the still fighting child.

"Hinata's upset, my clothes can be washed," she skillfully reprimanded. Wiping Hinata's blotchy face with the end of her sleeve, Atsuko kissed her forehead and smiled lovingly at the little girl. "Now then, what's all the fuss about? It's not like you at all." The servant holding Neji also let go at the silent command of his own mother, whom he quickly ran to. He wasn't hiding from those horrible servants –he was stronger than that, of course– but he didn't want to be anywhere in reaching distance of them again.

Quickly and, to Neji, incoherently, Hinata went on to tell her mother what had happened and kept pointing toward the garden where the twins now made their slow way toward the house and the group waiting there. Despite how broken and crying Hinata's explanation had been to Neji, Atsuko seemed to have understood the whole thing and waved the two boys the rest of the way to house. "Thank you for keeping Hinata from falling, Isamu-kun," she said warmly, thoroughly impressing Neji who hadn't heard Isamu's name in any of Hinata's babbling.

"You're welcome, Atsuko-sama," Isamu replied with a bow of his head.

"Hinata doesn't have any children to play with other than Neji-kun, but Naomi says you've always been good friends with him, so can I ask you to take good care of Hinata as well?" There was no counter by the servants, Atsuko's voice while friendly was firm and defiant. This was her decision to make, not theirs.

The two boys exchanged a very significant look, considering their young age, before turning back to Atsuko with mirror grinning salutes. "You can count on us, Atsuko-sama!"

The three women all smiled back at the two branch boys, none showing the same harshness or regard the servants had even though they were so much more powerful. Instead they shared an understanding that Neji noticed adults would get when kids did certain things around them. Gently pushing Hinata to the ground, Atsuko stood and took her daughter's hand, waiting momentarily for Yumi to corral the IV beside her. "Now that that's settled, Hinata said you were trying to fix up my garden. It's been so long since I've had a chance to see it, why don't we all have a nice picnic out there and see what the damage is. From the looks of it you four were having quite a time before we got here."

"We're helping," Hinata piped up cheerfully. Despite all their efforts, Hinata's mother still brought out the happiest Hinata he'd seen, even if –to Neji– Atsuko still looked very thin and weak compared to the time he'd seen her before they moved.

Atsuko waved the servants off to get food and drinks for everyone before ushering all the children back to the garden, with Yumi and Naomi keeping watch over Atsuko. The three women settled a short way from the garden itself, in a dryer, less muddy area, but she offered all four of them careful direction on tending to her garden. She showed them which plants were weeds to pull, what needed to be trimmed or propped up, and how to best keep the soil fresh and healthy for the plants. Hinata was so excited at the whole event that Atsuko had one of her books brought out, and she taught the children how each plant was used in medicines and teas. By the time the servants returned with food, everyone was tired and ready for a break, while Hinata had settled into her mother's arms and fallen asleep, leaving even the rambunctious twins quieter than normal so as not to wake her.

Atsuko didn't eat much and chose instead to stroke Hinata's hair as she slept against her. "Neji-kun, Osamu-kun, Isamu-kun," she called to them quietly to get their attention. "Hinata is going through a lot of pain right now, and things may only get worse before they get better. But she's going to be the head of the clan one day, so there'll be times when she's expected to face such hard times on her own. She's very shy and she tends to just do whatever those around her want her to, so I don't doubt she'll try her best to please everyone, but when things hurt those are the times when people need others around them the most. To help them and support them.

"The three of you may not know her very well yet, but it's been a while since I've seen her play this happily with others. So I'd like to ask the three of you to watch over her for me, and pay attention to those times when she needs someone to comfort her, support her, or," she paused and smiled at Isamu and Osamu, "just to make her laugh and play. Can you all promise to do that for me?"

Neji didn't quite understand everything Atsuko said, or the serious look that passed between Isamu and Osamu, but he did know what she had asked of them. It was exactly what he'd wanted to do when he said he'd be Hinata's brother. Protect her and be with her, but for Atsuko to suddenly ask the way she did, as if they were adults just like the women behind her, made Neji feel like she'd invited them into her family, or more precisely, made them all very important parts of Hinata's family. A family that had just gotten smaller.

"Yes," Neji answered, trying to force his voice to sound as grown up as he felt the question was. Beside him the twins nodded and repeated his reply, though theirs was a little more hesitant (but no less serious).

"Thank you," Atsuko whispered back, closing her eyes in sudden exhaustion.

"Atsuko, maybe it's time we went inside," Yumi suggested carefully, but Hinata's mother just shook her head.

"I'd like to stay with Hinata a little longer, please." No one asked again, but the glance that passed not only between Yumi and Naomi, but also from Osamu to Isamu, while not understood, did not go unnoticed by Neji.

* * *

It was several months before Neji learned what that shared look meant or the real meaning behind Atsuko's sudden request of the boys. When he learned it though, it became frighteningly clear in the crying, screaming form of his sister-cousin as Yumi carried her from her mother's room. Atsuko had died quietly in her sleep, without the ceremony or affairs her husband's death had received.

At the funeral everyone watched Hinata standing in front of Yumi. Not even Hizashi, Naomi, or Neji had been allowed to stand with Hinata this time, not being actual relatives to Atsuko. She cried along with her grandmother, but with each new person looking on her Neji saw Hinata's little hands trembling under their unspoken expectations. She was all alone and had no idea what she was supposed to do. More importantly, she was all alone.

Neji glanced back to the area reserved for the branch family, searching for a moment till he found the two he wanted, their young heads bowed in respect. Feeling his eyes on them, the twins simultaneously raised their heads and offered Neji a subdued smile, their eyes darting over to Hinata momentarily. Neji hadn't learned all the nuances of Hyuuga body language the way they had, but he understood their message clear enough. They hadn't forgotten their promise to Atsuko.

Hinata might be alone, but so long as Neji didn't forget about her she didn't have to stay that way. That was the point of being her brother and that was what Atsuko had wanted to tell them. He closed his eyes and bowed his small head to Atsuko's body, silently praying, _I'll always stay with Hinata-chan. I'll be the best brother ever! I promise._


	4. Finding Your Place

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review. I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story.

* * *

Neji ran through the halls of the main house as fast as his little feet could take him. He wouldn't admit to being panicked, but if his hands were fisted tight enough for his nails to make indents in his skin, well that only made sense. He couldn't find Hinata, again. It was his job to watch over her and that wasn't easy in the months since her mother's death. Hinata, he found out, could hide really well. He even cheated once and used byakugan (a big no-no in the compound).

He skidded around the corner of Hiashi's old office and looked in every corner and cabinet. It was no longer the empty shell of a room it had been after Hiashi died. Mementos were scattered about in a strange order of childish intent. A picture of Hinata and her parents set center stage on the desk no longer used for working but as a shrine to those Hinata had lost. Her mother's books on plants, medicines, and healing jutsu filled the shelves while her father's incense holder remained ready to be lit on the display to the right.

Neji stopped in front of the dark cedar bookshelf and stared at a slight topple of books he knew wasn't correct. He pulled out the slanted book and looked at the bright green and red flower on the cover. A sad smile crossed his young face as he returned the book to the shelf. He knew where to find her now.

He ran past the everyday business of the servants, out the house, and away to the far edge of the compound where a little plot of half-tended earth struggled to sprout. Next to it sat a tiny child with mud caked on her hands, turning the pages of a book she couldn't read.

"Hinata-chan," he called out softly so as not to startle her, "what're you doing out here?"

"I can't make them look right." She turned the page and tears welled up in the corner of her pale eyes. "The pictures . . . Mama's always looked like the pictures."

Neji squatted down next to her. The book had smears of mud and weeds on the edge from where she held it, but when Hinata cradled it against her little body Neji knew she treasured it. It was her mother in bound paper.

"Maybe when Atsuko-sama was little she couldn't make it like the pictures either," he offered, reaching out to hold her hand. "If you ask my mom, I bet she'd get someone to teach you how to make it look like the pictures again. They can teach us both."

She shook her head and the tears finally fell, clearing a streak down her dusty face. "I can't do it."

"Of course you can," Neji encouraged with a smile. "I'll help you."

Hinata tucked her face into the book to hide from him. "I can't learn anything right."

"Yeah you can," he insisted.

She cried in full sobs now. "Grandpa yelled at me again. They show me but I can't get it."

"You mean when you sparred?"

She nodded behind the book. "I don't do it right. I try . . . I really try."

Neji simply held her hand for a moment, not certain how best to comfort her. Should he try and comfort the girl who'd lost her parents or the one who couldn't succeed in what she tried? Could he really do anything for either? What was a big brother supposed to do? Neji thought back to what Osamu had told him and let out a determined sigh.

"Okay, let's try again." He pulled his confused sister-cousin from the ground and carefully detached the book from her hands. Since he couldn't help her with the garden, which would ease the loss of her parents, he'd do what he could for her other problem. "Show me and I'll help you. Then next time Grandpa won't yell at you."

"But . . ."

"Come on," he interrupted before any more melancholy could slip in, "you can do it. I'll help you."

Hinata looked around befuddled by the strange change in his demeanor. She let him lead her back to the main house, her face a mix of confusion and nervous shock. Neji ushered her to her room with a smile and told her to change into her sparring clothes while he ran back to his own room to change. A small bit of him swelled with pride. He could cheer her up. He would cheer her up. And he'd do it all himself.

A quiet knock at his door drew Neji out, still pulling his shirt over his head as he hurried down the hall with Hinata in tow. "Don't worry," he called back at the uncertain look in her eyes, "we'll have fun."

They ran out to the training yards in the back of the main house grounds, and Neji was glad to see no one was using it at the moment. He had a feeling Hinata might not go along with him if someone was watching them (obviously at least, that close to the main house someone was going to be keeping an eye on them).

"So, what's Grandpa teaching you?" Neji asked when they both were in the center of the training field.

"I don't know how to do it," she fussed, her hands fidgeting in front of her.

"Well, show me what you're trying and I'll help you," he insisted. Like Osamu said, doing something was better than just sitting around, and Neji was determined to cheer her up.

Hinata's eyes flickered around the yard a couple times before she was assured no one was watching them and slipped into her jyuuken stance. She looked around one last time, and Neji didn't need byakugan to see the fear on her face. He knew their grandfather could be intimidating, but he'd always been praised in his training. He didn't know what it felt like to be yelled at for failing. From the tense expression on Hinata's face, it must have been a scary thing.

She took a deep breath and began the familiar kata that he'd been taught (and practically perfected if he listened to his father's criticism) long before they moved to the main house. Her form wasn't as solid as his or the older kids, but it wasn't horrible either. She was halfway through the routine when he noticed her slipping further out of proper stance. Her palm thrusts weren't bad, but when she had to move with them, or when she had to kick, her form fell apart. By the end of the routine Hinata was huffing with her head down in shame.

"That wasn't that bad," Neji encouraged, but she merely dropped her head even lower. "Really, it wasn't. Do it again, I'll help you this time."

They went through the kata over and over. Sometimes Neji mirrored her and sometimes he stopped and adjusted her form. He'd never taught someone before, so he talked to her the way his father did when he taught Neji and always praised her when she fixed something she'd been doing wrong. Hinata wasn't fully cheered up, Neji knew, but she wasn't shying away from him anymore either. Neji considered that an accomplishment.

They had to rest after each turn at the kata. Well, Hinata did and so Neji feigned tiredness so she didn't feel bad to take a break. After all their work Neji was barely out of breath, while Hinata struggled to keep going at times. His father always told him to build up his endurance and stamina in order to become a good shinobi, but Hinata didn't seem to have either. He wondered if that was what made their grandfather yell at her.

"Neji-chan!"

"Hinata-sama!"

The two friendly voices broke through the quiet afternoon like fireworks in the night: bright, cheerful, and with jarring force. Osamu and Isamu hopped off the porch from the main house and strutted over as well as a couple of seven-year-olds could. Osamu sneaked behind Neji while Isamu slipped in behind Hinata and in unison the twins ruffled the two younger children's hair until it flew off in every direction.

Neji swiped at his attacker, but Osamu was already spinning around in front of Hinata with Isamu, matching smiles on their faces. "Who are we, Hinata-sama?" they asked in unison.

Hinata looked at each of their faces with childish intensity. It was a game they played with her every time they visited, and Hinata took it seriously each time. She reached up and blocked out their eyes and then their mouths, as if hidden somewhere on their identical faces was a hint to their true names. After several minutes of deep scrutiny Hinata pointed to the twin to her right and proudly proclaimed, "Isamu-kun!"

"How could you, Hinata-sama?" The twin she pointed to grasped his heart and toppled to the ground over-dramatically. He laid in his mock death until a pout was firmly planted on Hinata's young face, then, peeking one eye open to stare at her, he stuck his tongue out. "Lucky guess."

Osamu, the twin still standing, ruffled her hair once more for good measure as a bright grin filled her face. It was the first time she'd gotten them right. Neji didn't sulk next to her, but his nose squinted up a little. He'd picked them wrong that time.

"So," Isamu drawled out as he got up and brushed himself off, "what're you two up to?"

"I'm helping Hinata-chan with her kata," Neji beamed proudly, though it quickly deflated a little at the discouraged sigh from his sister-cousin. She really had improved, even if she didn't see it.

"Why don't you show us," Osamu suggested, sensing the defeat in her sigh. He snuck a wink at Neji that returned the confidence to his smile. Hinata looked at the ground nervously, her tiny hands twisting the edge of her dusty training shirt like a safety blanket.

"Come on, Hinata-sama," Isamu encouraged, "if you do I'll shove Aniki in the mud for you to laugh at."

"Hey!" Osamu balked.

Isamu simply shook his head. "Aniki, it's for Hinata-sama."

"Oh yeah, pull the 'it's for Hinata-sama' card on me."

Both twins flashed Hinata an exuberant grin so she knew they were joking and then put on the biggest, saddest, most pleading puppy-dog eyes any Hyuuga could manage. Flustered, she looked at Neji and fidgeted back and forth for a minute before finally muttering a barely audible "Okay," to the ground.

Victorious, the older boys settled back as Hinata and Neji fell into the same stance they'd been working on for the last hour. Neji could tell right away she was getting tired. Her first couple palm thrusts were good, but it deteriorated quickly, and she didn't even make it through the whole routine before she had to stop and catch her breath. A frown would have marred her face if only she could have stopped wheezing long enough to make it.

"Neji-chan," Osamu called after exchanging a 'look' with his brother, "have you been doing the kata practice with her?"

"Mostly."

Another 'look' flickered between the twins' gazes, and Neji could see something serious in it he couldn't identify, but it was adult-like serious. The look passed as quickly as it came and Osamu was back to his infectiously happy grin.

"Hinata-sama," he asked, "want to play a game?"

"Game?" she repeated.

Osamu nodded and reached out to take her hands in his. "Yeah, let's see who can hold their breath longer. Everyone take a deep breath."

Osamu and Isamu inhaled with over-exaggerated effort to encourage the others to follow their lead and all four children stood silently holding their breath. Neji looked between them confused, but he wasn't as good at reading meanings as the twins (yet) and just had to trust them. Within seconds Hinata was squirming uncomfortably, her lips curling under to try and hold the air in longer. It was useless though. The air gushed out of her first, and she huffed heavily as her red face paled again. Game over, the twins both relaxed (signaling Neji to also) and smiled at Hinata again before she got upset over losing so quickly.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Otouto?" Osamu asked to which his brother nodded.

"We need to work on Hinata-sama's lungs more than her kata."

Neji smiled encouragingly at Hinata when her confused stare returned to him, but in truth he had no idea what the twins were talking about.

"You see," Osamu explained, releasing Hinata's hands to stand up and brush himself off, "it's not that you can't learn the kata, Hinata-sama."

"It's that you can't breathe through it," Isamu concluded as he followed his brother's example and got up. "It's hard to do any training if you're huffing and puffing five minutes in."

"How can we fix her breathing?" Neji asked, not at all liking that he had to ask. He should know these things as her big brother. (Plus, the twins were annoying when they acted like they knew everything.)

Neji saw the 'look' that passed from brother to brother and this time he recognized the emotion it conveyed: fear. He stepped up close to Hinata. Not that he expected them to hurt her, but he'd never seen fear in his cousins before and it was his job to watch out for Hinata.

With their silent debate concluded, Osamu and Isamu nodded once to each other and erased any lingering negativity from their excited faces. Isamu held his hand out to Hinata. "Want to come to the branch house, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata took Isamu's offered hand with innocent trust. "Branch?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun and we'll work on your breathing there."

Neji wanted to say something but Osamu quickly silenced him with an almost unnoticeable shake of his head. Hinata wasn't allowed out of the main house, he knew. They all knew. So why did they want to take her to the branch compound? As much as he knew they shouldn't, a part of Neji missed his old home. He hadn't been back since they'd moved and that felt like forever ago now. And the twins wouldn't have suggested it if it was really bad, Neji told himself. His father's nagging command to the contrary was squashed beneath longing and the knowledge that he and the twins would be with her the whole time. They'd take care of her. He'd probably mistaken the fear he saw, anyway.

Osamu squatted down in front of Hinata and smirked cheekily. "We have to be sneaky though, like good shinobi. Our mission: get to the branch house without being spotted. They'll spoil all the fun if they catch us. Are you up for it Hinata-sama? Neji-chan?"

Hinata mirrored Isamu's happy nod, but Neji looked at the two skeptically. "If I'm a real shinobi then you shouldn't call me Neji-_chan_ anymore," he pouted. He was a big brother now anyway; they needed to stop teasing him with that name.

Osamu laughed and clapped Neji on the shoulder. "Tell you what, Neji-chan, if we get to the branch house without getting caught, we'll start calling you Neji-kun as a reward."

That silenced the last of Neji's doubts. He was tired of being called –chan.

"Now then," Osamu said, huddling them all together to plot in secrecy, "how do we get there?"

"What if we went by the garden and when they stop watching us go around the back?" Neji suggested.

The twins snickered. "You must really want that –kun," Isamu teased.

"But it's a good idea," Osamu remarked. "Okay, to the garden and around the perimeter. Everybody keep an eye out for someone watching, but casually."

"Casually?" Hinata asked.

Isamu picked her up, even though she was already big enough to look cumbersome propped against his hip. "Don't worry, Hinata-sama, you just watch me and laugh and no one will bother us. That's your job. Can you do that?" She laughed a pleasant bird-chirp in reply and they all started for the garden.

Other than Neji, the twins were the only people Hinata seemed comfortable being held by. When the servants picked her up she always pushed away. Even his parents didn't always look right holding her (not that his father did very often). But she hugged Neji without restraint and held onto him when they slept together, though his father was stopping her from coming to his room as often. And as they walked Hinata easily wrapped her little arms around Isamu's neck and rested her head against his shoulder. A part of him remembered what her mother had asked of them before she died and he grinned with pride. They were keeping their promise.

It didn't take long to get to the garden, though it took longer for the last of the servants to stop watching them. Eventually the last pair of eyes returned to the house while they messed around in the dirt. All four children snickered at each other and hurried around the back of the house.

Neither the main house nor the branch house were technically 'houses' in the sense outside the Hyuuga compound. They were actually the two sections of the Hyuuga compound, one reserved for the main family and any official business to be done with Hyuuga-sama, the other reserved for members of the branch family. As large as the Hyuuga compound was, most of it was actually the branch side.

So in order to get to the branch house, the children simply had to follow the perimeter of the compound wall, often hiding in shrubs or behind trees to keep from being notice by wandering Hyuugas. True, only Hinata and Neji needed to hide as the twins had no problems going to the branch house, but, as Osamu told them, sneaking around was half the fun. Neji had to admit, he'd missed getting into trouble with his cousins. From the smile threatening to blaze off her face, Hinata loved it too. Neji wondered if she'd ever gotten to do anything like this before at the main house. As strict as they were, he doubted it. Where was the fun of being a kid if you never did something you weren't supposed to?

Neji was surprised when the twins ignored the most covert path toward the residential area, choosing instead to continue their journey along the edge. The further away they snuck from the homes, the more Neji suspected he knew where they were headed, not that he understood why. Sure enough, after skirting a few training grounds and a couple gossiping girls, they reached a large pond along the far corner of the compound. It was small enough to not be called a lake or anything, but deep enough that at its center Neji had to dive down to reach the bottom.

"Success!" Isamu cheered, picking Hinata up and spinning her around in triumph.

Osamu turned to Neji and ruffled his hair. "Well, I guess you earned it, Neji-kun. I'm going to miss the –chan. It made you cute." Neji smoothed back his hair but a grin belied his frustration. His first mission was complete. He'd have told his father if he didn't think he'd get yelled at for it.

"So what now?" Neji asked.

"Now we go swimming," Osamu answered as both twins peeled off their shirts.

Neji was about to do the same (not really understanding why but it'd been too long since he'd gone swimming) when he saw Hinata hesitating behind them.

"Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"

"I don't . . . know . . . swim," she murmured almost too low to be heard.

"You don't know how to swim?" he repeated to make sure he didn't mishear. She nodded.

"That's okay, Hinata-sama," Osamu called, he and his brother now down to their boxers. "You can hold onto us, we'll keep you safe."

"How is this supposed to help Hinata-chan's breathing?" Neji asked. Not that he didn't want to swim, but it didn't make sense to him.

"You know Mio-chan, she gave up the academy cause she couldn't breathe well when she trained, way worse than Hinata-sama," Osamu explained. "But she loves to swim. She says it's easier to breathe in water. We figured if it helps Mio-chan, then maybe we can use the water to help strengthen Hinata-sama's breathing."

"Then I can do my kata right?" she whispered.

"It'll be easier," Isamu encouraged. "And Neji-ch– kun, Aniki, and me will help you with the parts you still have trouble with."

Neji took her hand and tugged her to the edge of the water. "Grandpa won't yell at you anymore. We'll help you get strong."

Her pale eyes gazed down at the clear surface of the pond and then back at Neji with a childish grin returned to her face. "And swim?"

"Definitely swim."

* * *

Hizashi relaxed into the subtle ministrations of his wife slowly seeping a trace of chakra into his temples to relieve his growing headache. Hizashi had a feeling it was more Naomi's presence than her chakra that was doing the job, but he wouldn't reject either. The sigh that sunk him further into his chair told his wife just how much he appreciated her attention.

"You should thank Yumi-san next time you see her," Naomi chucked, the sound a feather-light breath against his stressed mind. "She's the one who taught me how to do this."

Hizashi snatched his wife's hand and snaked it around to place a lingering kiss against her fingers. "I'd enjoy you even if you didn't know how to do it. Merely having you here is a balm."

Footsteps pounded across the hall until the shogi door rattled from the force. Hizashi scowled and had a suspicion his reverie was about to be interrupted. "That's the second time someone's run down the hall."

"I'll go check on it," Naomi offered but found her hand securely trapped.

"I'd rather you stay," he whispered, pulling her close as he stood up.

He knew she wouldn't no matter what he said, just as he knew he should find out what the commotion was about himself. They had their duties to attend to, and though it had become easier since his brother's death, there was still much for Hizashi to learn about being clan head. So the chaste kiss he placed on her lips was both longing and goodbye.

"Perhaps next time," she teased, her hand slipping unfettered from his.

A sharp knock on the wood frame of his door rudely snapped both of them from their quiet farewell. "Hyuuga-sama," a young voice huffed and the door opened before he could even respond. Panic filled the woman's pale eyes as she knelt down in apology. "Forgive me, but Hinata-sama is missing."

"Missing?" Whatever relaxation Hizashi had achieved disappeared in that one word.

"Yes," the woman answered, her head lowering further in shame. "We watched her go to Atsuko-sama's garden with Neji-sama, Osamu-kun, and Isamu-kun, but when we went back to check on them they were gone. We've searched the entire main house, _with_ byakugan. They're nowhere in the main house. We've already sent searchers out."

Two very conflicting emotions swirled deep beneath the mask of calm that settled over him. The Raikage wouldn't be foolish enough to try taking her again less than a year after that botched mess, but if they had . . . She was with the boys, though. Even if someone had tried to take her, the twins were already in the academy; they would know how to send a distress call from a distance. The twins . . .

Hizashi stalled. Surely they wouldn't have been so stupid.

"Did anyone check the branch house?" Hizashi asked.

"The branch house?" the confused woman repeated. "No. I don't believe so."

Naomi shook her head. "The boys wouldn't do something so foolish."

"You'd better hope they did." Hizashi activated byakugan and stretched his sight as far into the branch house as he could. Normally every Hyuuga, even those privileged in the main family, followed the strict rule of no byakugan within the compound unless sparring. No one would be able to live with the remotest sense of privacy without it, but with the heir missing – especially after losing Hiashi– nothing was sacred.

His gaze passed through homes and trees and people going about their daily lives. His hands fisted the longer he searched, both praying to find his niece and not wanting to imagine Neji and the boys would be so idiotic as to take Hinata from the main house. At least if they were he'd have easy targets for the adrenaline-fed fury simmering under his controlled countenance. Finally his colorless vision passed over a small pond in the far corner of the compound, and he exhaled all the fear from his body.

"She's safe," he reported to the collective relief of the women in the room. "Call back the searchers and inform everyone that when I get back new rules will be in place about leaving Hinata alone."

"Yes, Hyuuga-sama," the woman bowed again, guilt still in her white eyes, and left the room.

"What're you going to do to the boys?" Naomi asked as Hizashi let byakugan recede.

"If they're lucky I'll only kill them," he seethed, the fury he'd controlled up to then filling in the place forfeited by his fear.

"They're children," Naomi cautioned, but Hizashi wasn't in the mood to listen to excuses.

"They knew the rules. The one thing they were absolutely not allowed to do was take Hinata from the main house." He swept out of the room so fast Naomi was practically jogging in order to keep up. "The clan can't take scares like this, Naomi. They won't be allowed in the main house anymore."

Once in the yards, they set into a run across the near-empty grounds that led to the branch side of the compound. Naomi sprinted ahead of him slightly so that he had to look at her when she spoke. "Hizashi, be reasonable. Hinata enjoys having the twins around, and she needs a little time to be a normal child with all the changes she's had to deal with."

"They should've thought of that before they put her in danger. She's not just a normal child, Naomi. She's the heir to the clan, and they knew not to take her out."

"It's not as if they took her out into the village," Naomi insisted. "She's in the compound still, and there are plenty of people in the branch house there to protect her."

"And how would they know to protect her with them sneaking her away? Naomi, this won't go unpunished."

"I'm not saying it should, but think about Hinata for a moment," she pressed.

Hizashi scowled at his wife, an act that showed more than anything how furious he was. "I _am_ thinking about Hinata. I'm thinking about keeping her alive until she's old enough to protect herself. That's our duty."

"If you stopped thinking like her regent and started thinking like her uncle you'd see how much she needs children around her."

Hizashi stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Naomi to double back to meet him again. He leveled a hard gaze on her, one he'd never used on his wife before. "I'm not her father, and you're not her mother," he said coldly, "We're to raise her, but she's not our daughter."

Naomi met his gaze with a glare of her own. One of the reasons he loved her was the strength she had, the kind of determination that made her step before him with the same authority and power as he held. "She's not our daughter, but she's still our niece, and when you made the decision to raise her I supported you. But you need to realize that to me that means I'm going to think of her as my own and I'm going to treat her as my own. If you weren't so frightened of replacing Hiashi, you'd think that way too. How long do you think it's going to be before she realizes that you're scared to hold her? Or that you run away whenever she even begins to look at you like she looked at her father?"

Hizashi turned away from her, but said nothing. That his wife knew him so well was sometimes a curse.

"We're not her parents, but we're all she has. If one day Hinata thinks of you as much of a father to her as Hiashi was, that doesn't mean you've disgraced his memory or you're merely a convenient replacement. It means that you did everything right."

If anyone else had said that to Hizashi, he would have been insulted and only increased the anger already boiling at the edge of his control. To hear it from Naomi though was to hear a truth he didn't want to face. He understood that he was more family to Hinata than even his wife, whose relation was by marriage and not close blood, but sometimes when that little girl looked at him he knew she was searching for Hiashi in his face. If not for the black scarf he wore to cover the seal on his forehead, she'd see nothing to say he wasn't her father. Hizashi tried so hard to keep a distance from her, was he forgetting to see her as nothing more than the heir? Hadn't he agreed to be her guardian because he thought she needed more than that?

Hizashi took a deep breath and exhaled in slow, deliberate time as he released much of his fury. (Much, not all.) "They're still going to be punished severely," he conceded.

"I'll get with my cousin and make sure of it," Naomi agreed.

"And they won't be allowed at the main house for a while."

"That sounds fair."

Hizashi sighed, his anger almost completely dissipated before he even had the chance to yell at the children. That was most likely Naomi's plan from the start. "Neji will need to be punished as well. He's younger but he knew she was to stay the same as the twins. He needs to learn not to be influenced by them so much."

A foul, sinister smirk darkened his wife's normally tender face. "Oh, I have plans for our son."

Hizashi suddenly wondered if the children wouldn't have been better off with him yelling at them for a few hours instead. They might end up wishing he had merely banished them from the main house.

"All right, let's go deal with the children," he said, adding a 'calmly' for her benefit.

They hadn't been far from the pond when Hizashi had stopped, so they were in earshot of the children in a matter of moments and what he heard made him pause. If he had barreled in screaming at them, he might have missed the soft calls that now confused him. Holding a hand out, Hizashi motioned for Naomi to wait with him in the trees just out of the children's line of sight.

Hinata was close enough to shore to still be standing on her own in the water. Osamu and Isamu hovered nearby in case she moved too deep into the pond and needed to be supported. Neji was further into the pond facing Hinata, half-standing, half-treading to keep up. Water splashed between the two as each thrust forward in jyuuken strikes, Neji hindered by the lack of foothold more than Hinata.

"Two more then kick, Hinata-sama," Osamu called, and the twins moved in to support her as the underwater kick took her deeper into the pond.

"Why did they come all the way out here just to do training? And why are they in the water?" Naomi whispered, looking as confused as Hizashi felt. He had expected to find them playing, but training in the pond? That simply didn't make sense.

They watched as the twins carefully pulled Hinata deeper into the pond so that she clung to them entirely, while Neji walked out a little to sit in the shallows. One of the twins nodded three times to Hinata and then they all went under. Still on the edge, Neji counted aloud until they burst through the surface again (longer than Hizashi was comfortable with waiting).

"How long was that?" Hinata coughed.

"Forty-two seconds," Neji answered proudly.

The twins lifted her out of the water in triumph only to let her splash back into their arms. "That's twelve seconds better than before, Hinata-sama," one cheered.

Hizashi and Naomi exchanged a curious glance. What exactly were they doing? Exiting their cover in the trees, Hizashi and Naomi strode toward the four children with all the stern condemnation on their faces as befit the crime of stealing Hinata from the main house. They didn't need to know Hizashi was more curious now than angry.

"Osamu. Isamu. Neji." Hizashi said each name in a slow, thick voice that warned of more danger than heated anger could produce.

Hinata interrupted their admonishing with a trill of delight and a naïve smile that wasn't on the boys around her. "Uncle Hizashi! Aunt Naomi! I held my breath for forty-two seconds!"

"That's wonderful," Naomi cooed, moving forward to pick up Hinata as she ran in from the shallows. Her dripping training outfit soaked Naomi's front in seconds. "But you know you aren't supposed to leave the main house. We've been worried."

Unsure of what to say, Hinata twisted around to find the boys, all of whom were now standing in their boxers on shore. One of the twins stepped up to take responsibility for the rest. Hizashi assumed it was Osamu, being the oldest (and he made a mental note to learn how to tell them apart).

"We were trying to make Hinata-sama's lungs stronger. So her katas wouldn't be so hard. We thought it'd be easier in water. And it was," he added the last bit with a nervous grin, as if being correct made it all right.

"Even if Neji and Hinata don't understand, you two should know what it meant for us to discover Hinata missing after all that's happened," Hizashi demanded, his hard stare bearing down on the twins until Osamu retreated back to his brother. "Do you realize what could happen to you for _kidnapping_ the heir to the clan?"

"We didn't kidnap her," Isamu muttered, not meeting his eyes. "We just wanted to help her and the pond's in the branch house."

"Did it occur to you to ask?" Naomi questioned coolly.

"It'd spoil the fun," Hinata chirped, not grasping the true tone of their conversation. By the snickering the twins failed to hold in, Hizashi had no doubt she was parroting what they told her.

"You two," Hizashi snapped, towering over the twins who immediately sobered up again, "you are not allowed back to the main house for two weeks and we'll be speaking with your parents about the rest of your punishment. For now, go straight home and wait there. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Hizashi-sama!" the twins yipped and exchanged a look of disbelief.

"Don't think you're getting off easy," Naomi quipped, the sinister smirk Hizashi had glimpsed before returning with devious intent. "I'll be speaking with your mother personally to decide your punishment." Hizashi almost thought he heard a tiny cackle in her voice, not that he would ever say that to his wife. There was a reason the twins were now shielding each other and actively avoiding looking at Naomi.

"Did we really do something that bad?" Isamu whispered nervously.

Osamu tempted a worried peek at Hizashi and Naomi and reluctantly nodded to his brother. "I think we did."

"I'll be dealing with you as well, Neji," Naomi added, staring down at her young son. "You knew better, too. We trusted you to watch out for Hinata. You can't just follow what Osamu and Isamu do."

"But, we were just helping," he whimpered. Naomi held her glower firm. "Yes, Mom. I'm sorry." The children might fear Hizashi as the head of the clan now, but sometimes shinobi mothers were the most frightening people alive.

Hizashi's pale eyes fell on the little girl still held secure in his wife's arms. She appeared so much frailer than normal with her limp hair dripping against her face and her clothes sticking tight to reveal her thin body. He quelled a deep-seeded need to turn away and allow Naomi take care of Hinata. Thanks to Naomi's intervention he could no longer relinquish his responsibility for Hinata to his wife, not without admitting that a three-year-old girl inspired trepidation in him.

Fortifying himself with a deep breath and forcing a placid expression onto his face, Hizashi plucked Hinata from Naomi's arms. "I'll leave the boys to you, Naomi."

"Of course," she replied, her mother's scowl turning into a knowing grin.

Hizashi avoided his wife's smile and started back to the main house in silence. Hinata weaved her arms around his neck to keep upright, but he could feel a tenseness in her body he hadn't seen when Naomi held her or when she was with the boys. He wondered if perhaps Naomi hadn't been wrong. Could Hinata sense his own discomfort holding her?

She fidgeted in his arms and drew him from his thoughts. "Can Neji-niisan and I train with Isamu-kun and Osamu-kun again tomorrow?"

"No, the twins don't get to come over for a while. It was wrong of them to take you from the main house. You need to remember that, Hinata. You're not to leave the main house."

"But they promised to help so Grandpa won't yell at me," she whispered in a quickly disappearing voice.

Hizashi stopped walking and examined the child in his arms. Her gaze was to the ground and a frown spoiled her tender features. Hizashi shifted her so that she was facing him, but her eyes never rose to meet his.

He had made the decision to be clan head, to raise Hinata. Yet in the seven months since Hiashi's death, Hizashi had spent little time with her. The work and training he was inundated with as clan head became a convenient excuse to push the daily rearing of the children on Naomi, and though she was still learning basic jyuuken, it was simple enough to take his father up on the offer to tend to her training. If not for meals, Hizashi might not have spent more than a few minutes a day with her. All excuses to avoid her, and why? He'd told himself it was because it was easier on her not to see Hiashi's face, but in truth Naomi had been correct. He didn't want her to see him as Hiashi's replacement. He didn't want to be her father and in doing so ignored the fact he was her uncle.

"Hinata," he said softly, coaxing her gaze up with a gentle touch, "would you like it if I trained you instead of Grandpa?"

Her eyes flickered back and forth, looking anywhere but at him as she considered what to say. Finally, her tiny voice squeaked, "Do you yell, too?"

"I try my best not to."

Hizashi waited for her to think it through. A part of him marveled at how timid she was in his arms compared to the playfulness he saw in her at the pond with the boys. If only she had that same confidence around adults, then her weakness might not appear so blatant to the clan.

After a long, nervous deliberation Hinata nodded. It was the first time she looked directly at him since they left the pond.

"Very well, I'll train you tomorrow." He offered her a warm smile and found a hesitant one returned to him, only to be hastily hidden when she buried her reddening face against his shoulder.

He could do this, Hizashi reminded himself as he started for the main house once more. He owed it to his brother's sacrifice to watch over her as more than merely his ward or responsibility. He could raise her without replacing Hiashi.

"Uncle Hizashi," Hinata's small voice whispered into his neck, "can I learn how to swim?"

Hizashi chuckled. "The boys can teach you once their punishment is over."


	5. Discussions

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

* * *

"Hinata, focus on what you're doing," Hizashi reprimanded as he waited for his niece to right herself again.

"Yes, Uncle Hizashi."

Now five, Hinata had shown improvement over the two years since Hiashi's death. Perhaps not to the extent the clan council wished to see in the heir to the clan, but Hizashi was beginning to find the potential lurking there. It was simply a matter of figuring out how best to coax it out, he realized.

As much as he loathed to admit it (and which he wouldn't admit in their presence), the twins had come up with an advantageous way to improve Hinata's endurance and stamina. Swimming was one of the few areas that Hinata took to with ease, most likely for the very reasons that had prompted the boys to steal her away to the branch house in the first place. (Of course, after Naomi's punishment they never dared do that again. Not without express permission, at least.)

Unfortunately, Hinata didn't respond as well to traditional training methods. Even one on one sessions tended to intimidate her when she worked with an adult. Put her with children though, and the timid girl relaxed. Despite being more advanced than her, by allowing Neji to join some of her practices gave Hizashi the chance to focus on her deficiencies without causing her to shrink away from him.

Neji's absence in the last few weeks was most likely to blame for the sudden decline in her performance. The last two years Neji had been a constant presence and support in Hinata's life, but now he was old enough to attend the academy. They tried to explain to Hinata that Neji needed to attend the academy so that he could one day become a shinobi for the village, that it would be the same as the twins and he'd only be gone during the day; however, the first week he was away Hizashi could still see the confusion in his young niece. Neji did his best to compensate once he came home, but while he was in school Hinata appeared lost most of the time.

As she did then, looking toward the house as if her cousin would come out at any moment. It wasn't that Hizashi didn't sympathize with Hinata, but her soft-heartedness and dependence needed to be curbed early. She was going to be clan head one day and that meant far more than she realized. Empathy was a worthy trait (and perhaps needed more in the clan head than was seen in the past), but if she remained so frail of heart how would she handle sealing the branch family? Hizashi couldn't imagine the girl before him being able to calmly take Neji's child from him to be sealed as Hiashi had taken Neji from Hizashi himself. They were harsh realities, but ones she would have to face when the time came.

"Hinata, let's take a break," Hizashi conceded. She wasn't mentally in the spar. He ushered his niece to the porch where their tea from earlier waited. It had cooled during their spar, but it was a welcome relief from the afternoon heat. Hinata didn't drink though. Instead she merely gazed into the half-empty cup with a forlorn expression on her tired face.

"Uncle Hizashi, why can't I go to the academy with Neji-niisan?" she asked.

"We've gone over this, Hinata," Hizashi began again, doing his best to keep the exasperation from his voice. "You're the heir to the clan, so all your schooling will be done here to prepare you for leading the clan one day. If you went to the academy your education will be lacking, and there's much for you to learn before you come of age."

"But what if I went to the academy _and_ here? I'll work really hard, promise."

Hizashi sighed and placed a gentle hand on her head, slowly stroking her sweat-laden bangs from her face. "I'm sorry, Hinata."

"But I miss Neji-niisan," she pleaded.

"Even if you went to the academy, you'd have to wait till next year when you're old enough and then you won't be in the same class as Neji. You'd be by yourself."

"Then if it's better here, why can't Neji-niisan stay home?" Her pout was threatening to break into tears, but she held it in for now. That, if nothing else, spoke of her improvement. A year before she wouldn't have had that much self-control.

"Hinata, come here," Hizashi called, pulling the young girl from her seat to stand before him. He gently lifted her chin so that she was force to look at him. "Even though we live here you need to remember that Neji, Aunt Naomi, and I are branch family. That means the life you're going to have and the life Neji's going to have are going to be very different. You won't always get to be together like you used to. Neji's going to become a shinobi for the village. His duty will be to Konoha. Your duty is to the clan."

"But if you're branch and you're here why can't Neji-niisan stay, too?" she mumbled, trying her best not to look him directly in the eyes.

"When your father was alive I was a shinobi, too," he explained, "and when you're old enough to take over, I'll be one again. The Hyuuga is a strong clan, and it needs a strong leader, but it only needs _one_ leader. That'll be you, Hinata. The rest of us are here to support you, but that's all we can be. Do you understand?"

"It's not fair," she wheezed, a few tears finally breaking free and rolling down her cheeks.

"You're right, it's not fair, but it's the clan."

Handing Hinata her tea again, Hizashi wiped the tear from her face and waited for her to steady herself. They still had her training to finish.

* * *

"And sensei said I did better than everyone else on the test today," Neji beamed to Naomi as she filled his bowl with rice.

"That's wonderful, Neji" Hizashi praised, "But this is only the beginning. We expect you to keep this up."

"I will!"

Naomi had conceded the cooking duties to the servants when she moved into the main house, but still insisted it be presented as a shared family meal. While it was Hizashi's job to groom Hinata into a clan head, Naomi decided long ago that it would be her job to remind Hinata it was all right to be a child. And there was no better way to make children feel at ease than a casual family meal.

Naomi passed a bowl over for Neji to give to Hinata, though her smile was still on her son. "How are you getting along with the other children? Made any friends yet?"

Neji scrunched up his nose. "Kinda, but a lot seem freaked out by my eyes still."

Naomi and Hizashi shared a knowing smirk as they each remembered their academy days. "You'll get used to that," Hizashi assured him.

"Why are they freaked out?" Hinata asked innocently.

"Cause no one else has white eyes in my class," Neji explained.

"Why not?" Hinata scrunched her nose up in confusion, a habit she'd picked up from Neji. Whenever she did it, it reminded Naomi the two were most definitely cousins.

"Only Hyuugas have white eyes," Hizashi reminded his young niece, "and if they've never met a Hyuuga, it can be strange to some people."

A part of Naomi stalled at Hinata's ignorance to the village outside the compound. Judging by the way Hizashi avoided her gaze, he knew it too. Hinata's isolation in the compound was a sore subject between the two of them.

"Osamu-kun and Isamu-kun said they'd teach me how to do a replacement jutsu before sensei does," Neji excitedly returned to the topic of his day as if the conversation had never diverted. "That way I'll be able to do it the best in the class."

"Your chakra might not be strong enough yet to support a replacement jutsu," Hizashi warned, though the pride was obvious in his eyes.

"Then I'll make my chakra stronger," Neji declared, making both his parents smile.

"Can I learn, too?" Hinata piped in with an admiring gaze on her cousin.

Hizashi shook his head and the little girl's smile disappeared. "Hinata, your chakra definitely isn't strong enough to support a replacement jutsu, yet. There's a reason the academy teaches these jutsu in a specific order. In a couple years you'll start learning those."

Hinata slumped down into a pout and started shoveling rice in to cover up her disappointment. All it did was make her look like the rice had gone sour in her mouth.

The nagging feeling clawing at the back of Naomi's mind got stronger the more she looked on Hinata's frustration. She was far too isolated, and now that Neji was gone during the day she'd lost her only steady connection to anyone other than her servants and teachers. It wasn't fair to her. Naomi understood the council and her husband's fears now that she was the only member of the main family left unsealed, there were expectations of her, but keeping her safe in the compound deprived her of experiences that could benefit her when she became clan head.

A much as he tried to hide it, Naomi caught the marked aversion her husband's gaze took to avoid catching her eye. Either he was thinking the same thing and didn't want to admit it, or she was showing her disapproval more plainly than she meant to. She hoped it was the former.

After dinner (and sufficient time had passed), Naomi took the children to the pond in the branch house to play for a while. It did Hinata's self-esteem good to come and swim when she was discouraged, especially now that she was beginning to beat Neji when they raced.

Naomi knew it was going to be hard when the day came to move back to the branch house. Not that she cared about the servants or the luxuries they received in the main house, but (as hard as it would've been to believe before Hiashi died) Naomi cared for Hinata as if she were her own daughter. To have to leave her, even if only to the branch house, was going to be heart-breaking. All the more reason to ensure she grew up in a way that would stop history from repeating itself. The last thing Naomi wanted was for Neji and Hinata to become as distant and frigid to one another as Hiashi and Hizashi had been.

By the time they finished playing at the pond, the children were fussy with exhaustion and only complained a little when they were bathed and put to bed. Of course, Neji complained a little more that he didn't get to stay up later now that he was in the academy. (What a handful she was going have with him when he was older.)

With the children asleep, Naomi checked on the last of the house activities and reviewed the schedules for the following day before retiring to her room. Being wife to the clan head bore a surprising resemblance to head butler. She didn't exactly work on the nitty-gritty functions of the main house, but everything came to her for approval. And when guests came over, anything from menus to place settings to seating arrangements were her domain. It was enough to give her a headache sometimes (and want to burn down the entire house others).

She retrieved a small paperback book from atop her dresser to wait for Hizashi to come to bed. It was a frivolous story, and perhaps a little on the scandalous side, but after spending the day in propriety and strict conduct, Naomi enjoyed an improper, fluffy story now and then. The kidnapped main character was just about to find out what her handsome, tormented, half-naked captor had planned for her when Hizashi finally made it in for the night. (That left the good parts for tomorrow, she thought ruefully.)

"Are the days getting longer or am I getting older?" Hizashi asked as he sunk down next to his wife on the futon.

"The days must be getting longer," Naomi answered, planting a chaste kiss on his neck. "You aren't allowed to get older, because if you get older that means I'm getting older and having a son old enough to be in the academy is as old as I'm willing to be."

"Good to know it's not me," he joked back. Stealing the book from her hands, Hizashi pulled her close and returned her kiss with one that suddenly made losing the good parts of her story more bearable. There were advantages to the bedroom: proper decorum wasn't allowed in.

Naomi pushed back, but not so far as to leave his embrace. "Before you get too ahead of yourself, we need to talk about Hinata."

"Did something happen after dinner?" he asked, a hint of worry seeping into his voice.

"No, this is about what I was thinking about _at_ dinner," she answered and received a disgruntled sigh in return. Hizashi released his wife and, like earlier, refused to look at her. "I think she should go to the academy next year," she demanded.

"Naomi–"

"Don't Naomi me," she huffed before his voice got too patronizing. "I'm serious about this, Hizashi. She's too isolated here. Look at dinner tonight. She was all but begging to be with other children, and she has no real idea of life outside the compound."

"She doesn't want other children, she wants Neji," Hizashi insisted.

"All the more reason to send her to the academy. Let her meet other children and realize that her world doesn't have to be Neji and the twins. If she makes friends it'll be easier for her to let go of her dependence on Neji."

Hizashi pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign to Naomi that his frustration was close to the surface. "She has too much to learn here for the clan. She can learn how to fight at the academy, but it won't teach her how to be the head of the clan."

Naomi didn't want to bring out this argument, but he wasn't leaving her many options. "If Hiashi was alive she'd go."

Hizashi leveled his gaze on her, not glaring, but even and firm. "If Hiashi was alive she would be expected to take over at eighteen."

"Eighteen?" That took Naomi back. "I thought you convinced them to wait until she was twenty-one."

Hizashi forced the aggravation from his body in a deep, exhausted sigh. "They agreed to consider it, and after considering it they rejected my suggestion. They want the main family restored as soon as possible. To them it's not a matter of when she's ready, she _has_ to be ready by then."

"But you've done fine as clan head. It won't hurt to give her a little more time. To have her own life."

"The clan is her life," he said with quiet resignation. Naomi turned away and Hizashi pulled her close to comfort her. "Naomi, I might've been born main family, but the moment they sealed me I became branch in their eyes. I'm only a temporary substitute. They've got this foolish idea that once Hinata's clan head things will somehow be back to the way it was when Hiashi was alive. As if she's a living spite to the Raikage. They're expecting me to make her into that, but she's still behind for her age. It's going to be difficult enough to get her where she needs to be without her going academy."

Naomi understood his argument, but she wasn't ready to back down just yet. "How is keeping her trapped in the compound her entire life going to benefit her when she becomes clan head? Do you really want the first serious interactions she has with non-Hyuugas to be when she's making decisions for the clan? She needs to learn how people view the clan and how to talk to people who don't have to respect her simply because she's main family, and she needs to learn it now, while she's growing up."

"She's not going to be isolated her entire life," Hizashi defended. "We'll teach her what she needs to know."

She reached out and wrapped a loving arm around his shoulders to remind him that despite her opposition she was still on his side. They both wanted what was best for Hinata, and Naomi knew her husband didn't disagree with her. He just needed a reason to justify doing what he wanted for her that was more important than the time constraint Hinata was put under.

"You can't teach her how to get along with non-clan. She needs to get out there and do it. The clan may be her life, but she needs to understand that the clan is a part of the village. She needs to gain an appreciation and loyalty to the village, and she'll never get that hidden away here. That's why the clan head goes to the academy even though they can't become a genin. She can't want to protect the village and the clan in it if she only ever sees it from the clan's perspective."

"She can't learn it here?" he questioned not for confirmation but affirmation. Naomi felt it in the way her held her hand, he wanted to believe her.

She kissed him on the cheek again, lingering and lovingly. "If you try to teach her, it will always be clouded by the clan. To be a good clan head, to make decisions with others in the village, she has understand their position. What good will she be to us if she's too rigid about the clan to work with the Hokage when he comes to her?"

"Now _that_," Hizashi paused, silently working through the options left to him, "I wonder if that would buy me another year or two?"

"Even if it doesn't, she still needs to go," Naomi pressed. "Just because they make her clan head doesn't mean you can't still help her."

Hizashi shook his head and an old pain that she couldn't touch filled his pale eyes. "It's not going to be the same once she takes over. We'll officially be branch again. You don't know how being clan head changes the way you see people."

"It didn't change you," she offered.

"I'm only Hinata's regent," he said more bitterly than she'd heard in the last two years. Naomi rested her head against his shoulder and gently stroked his arm. She knew the cause of his pain but had no idea how to comfort it, or if now that Hiashi was dead it could ever be resolved.

"Hinata doesn't see us as branch or main," she offered in a soft voice. "All she cares about is that we're her family now and that doesn't have to change. Not if we raise her right. Isn't that why your father wanted us to take her in? To fix the mistakes he made?"

He rested his hand over hers and took a deep breath. "Change the way the head sees the clan and you change the way the clan sees itself. Do you actually think such a thing's possible?"

Naomi scoffed. "With two people as stubborn as us raising her? You put your mind to it and that little girl will always look up to you, branch and all."

Hizashi laughed the first genuinely happy sound she heard from him since he entered the room. Turning, he pulled her into his lap and kissed her playfully on the neck. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

"Probably not," she joked, "but what man could without a woman behind him." Hizashi silenced her once and for all that night, but Naomi didn't mind. Living the good part of her book was always better than reading it.


	6. First Day of School

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Also, I've chosen to not have Iruka as their teacher in the beginning since, if his age is correct, he'd be between 17 and 19 when the kids start and it does appear the teams stay together into late teens. So he'll be joining in a couple years.

* * *

"Hinata, remember to stay with your escort and don't leave the academy without him. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Aunt Naomi," Hinata whined as her aunt zipped her jacket closed.

"And if anything happens you find one of your teachers," Naomi continued.

"_Yes_, Aunt Naomi."

Naomi held onto the edge of Hinata's jacket to keep her from running off to the boys waiting for her. "Maybe I should take you today."

"Come on Aunt Naomi, we'll make sure she gets there safe and sound," Osamu called from where he, Isamu, and Neji loitered.

Isamu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we don't even need the escort for Hinata-sama. We'll take care of her."

"Maybe in two years when you're both genin we'll let you take Hinata out on your own, until then she gets an adult escort." Naomi kissed Hinata on the cheek and the moment she released her, Hinata ran to the waiting boys.

Hinata felt like she was going to burst out of her skin with excitement. She could only remember going out of the compound once or twice, and even that was a bit of a hazy memory. But this time she wasn't just going out into the village, she was going to the academy. Just like Neji and the twins and all the branch kids. Not that any of them would be with her, she reminded herself as she took Isamu's hand and the four of them (and her escort, Ko) left the compound. There weren't any other Hyuugas her age, so she'd be the only one in her class. As much as everyone told her it would be okay (Neji was the only one in his class, too), Hinata still squeezed Isamu's hand a little tighter at the thought.

"It's okay, Hinata-sama," Isamu said with a smile that eased her fear (a little). "Everyone's nervous on their first day at the academy."

"Yeah," Neji piped in, turning around to walk backwards in front of her so they faced each other. "Just don't think them staring at you is a big deal. After a while it'll stop."

"I bet Hinata-sama will be staring right back. They'll be as weird to her as she is to them," Osamu joked.

Hinata scooted closer to hide behind Isamu as they walked. They'd entered the commercial district and people hurried here and there while others sat at cafes or stood at food stalls chatting away over their breakfast. She'd seen non-Hyuugas before, when they came to talk with her uncle for official business, but never so many all in one place. She'd always thought the Hyuuga compound was huge, a whole world in itself, but here on this one street the only white eyes she saw belonged to the people walking with her.

"Are they going to be nice?" Hinata asked.

"Don't worry, you'll find some nice friends," Neji encouraged.

"But some kids are just jerks," Osamu warned, "so if anyone messes with you, you tell us after class. We'll fix it." The twins shared a scary grin Hinata'd never seen on them before. She turned to Neji for help but he just nodded along with them, though not with the scary smile.

"If she has any problems with the other kids Hinata-sama should go to her teachers," Ko corrected, giving a reproachful glance at the three boys.

"_Right_," Isamu drawled on for effect before sneaking a wink to Hinata.

"Come on, Hinata-chan, it's right up here." Neji snatched Hinata's free hand and pulled her out from behind her shield. He pointed to a large building and tugged her free of Isamu to hurry her forward. They stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and Neji beamed down, flourishing his arm out so exaggeratedly even the twins laughed behind them. "Welcome to the Ninja Academy!"

The building was huge. Bigger than anything at the Hyuuga compound. If not for the cliff side behind it, Hinata would've thought it was a mountain inside the village. She felt tiny staring up at it. And there were so many kids! Hinata didn't know what to think. Some were her and Neji's ages while others looked older than Isamu and Osamu, and none that she could see were Hyuuga. Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her jacket even as the smile threatened to break free of her face and fly away.

"Come along." Ko gently ushered her to continue in, Neji taking her hand for support.

Osamu and Isamu waved good-bye to the two smaller children and hurried in before they were late. Being in older grades they had to go to the upper levels of the academy. There were a few other adults sending their young children off, but none went into the building the way Ko followed her and Neji. Suddenly she felt completely out of place, though the fewer Hyuugas there were around her the more she wished Ko could stay with her the whole day.

They passed Neji class first. He gave her a hug and told her (once again) that she'd be fine before disappearing into the large classroom. They continued down the hall until Ko stopped in front of a door on the right and knelt down so he was level with her.

"This is your classroom, Hinata-sama. I'll be waiting for you and Neji-sama at the front door when your lessons are over. If for any reason I'm not there, you're to wait in front of the building for me. Even if Neji-sama or the twins say they'll walk you home, you're to wait here. Do you understand?" Hinata nodded. "All right, good luck, Hinata-sama." Ko handed her a small bento box for lunch and, with an encouraging smile, waited for her to enter before leaving.

Hinata took as deep a breath as her body could inhale and crossed the threshold. She'd entered a new world. Ascending rows of tables filled one side of the large room and a long blackboard lined wall to wall on the other. A woman who looked younger than her aunt and uncle stood near a podium centered in front of all the desks and welcomed them as they entered. There were fewer children in here than earlier but still more than Hinata had seen gathered together, and they all looked so different. Not just from her but each other, too. None of them appeared as terrified as she felt though.

"Get in," a boy called from behind Hinata and shoved her away from the door where she'd been taking in the scene.

"I–I'm sorry," she mumbled to the three boys now standing around her.

"Who stands in front of a door?" the middle one jeered, looking at his friends for expected laughter. He got it.

"Whoa," the one on the left leaned in close, his face twisting up like he'd eaten something gross. "What's with her eyes?"

"She must be one of those Hyuugas," the last one said. "My brother's got one in his class, said they're all snobby."

Hinata dropped her eyes to the ground and struggled to say something back, but all that came out was a frightened wheeze. She didn't know what snobby meant, but she knew the way he said it was bad. Suddenly the three boys scattered and a pair of adult feet came into view. When she looked up the woman that had been at the podium was smiling down to her.

"You must be Hinata," the woman greeted her, " I've talk to your uncle already. Why don't you go take a seat? We'll be starting soon."

Hinata nodded, but still couldn't bring herself to speak. She wondered if that was what Osamu meant by someone messing with her. At least it seemed the teachers really did help with that.

She stared up at the desks. Some already had kids sitting down, talking and laughing excitedly, and others were empty or had a few standing around waiting for class to start. Hinata made a special note of where the three that had 'messed' with her were and went to the seat furthest away. The table she found was empty still, so she took the seat next to the window. The cooling breeze that filtered in through the cracked window calmed her down again, as did the view of the training yards outside. So the day hadn't started well, that was okay. The boys had told her a few people were just jerks and not to let that bother her. She was almost relaxed again when a hand slammed down on the table in front of her.

"That's my seat."

Hinata's head snapped up and her hands still holding her bento shook beneath the table. The three boys from earlier loomed over her and blocked any chance of escape. She knew they hadn't been sitting there before, she'd made sure of it, but with all their faces glaring down at her, Hinata found herself speechless once again.

"I said, that's my seat," the middle one repeated with a twisted grin on his face. "Get out, or are the Hyuugas so special they can kick anyone out they want?"

_'It wasn't your seat!'_ she wanted to scream, but all she heard was a tiny squeak.

"Are you dumb or something? Get out of my seat."

Lost and on the verge of tears, Hinata forced her way between the boys and ran to the other side of the room, to the highest, furthest desk in the whole class. She checked three times to make sure no one was going to take it before sitting down and forcing herself not to start crying. She put her hand to her mouth and ran her bottom teeth against her skin to try and calm down. A squeak really did pop out when a boy with a spiky ponytail sat down next to her. He eyed her with a confused expression before sighing and laying his head down on the table. That was at least better than being mean.

If everyone else just ignored her the rest of the day then maybe she'd survive. She wouldn't make any noise, wouldn't speak to anyone, she'd stay hidden in the corner until it was time to go home. That'd be good.

Hinata didn't like the academy so far.

"All right," the woman called everyone's attention and waved the last wandering kids into their chairs. Even the boy sitting next to Hinata sat up. "Everyone, welcome to the Ninja Academy. This is the first day in your journey to becoming shinobi. It's not going to be easy, but if you make it you'll get the honor to wear this," –she pointed to her forehead protector– "and serve as a shinobi protecting the village."

Excited murmurs filled the classroom, making Hinata feel even more like an outcast. She wasn't there to become a shinobi.

The woman motioned for silence again and continued, "I'm Akiyama Kiku, and I'll be here to help you on that journey, so feel free to come to me when you need to. Now why don't we go around and I want you to introduce yourself. You'll all be together for the next six years, so everyone get to know each other."

Hinata curled as far into the corner as she could move her chair. She wanted to hide, not have everyone's eyes on her. She gazed at the space beneath her desk and seriously contemplated ducking under and praying no one noticed her absence. The boy next to her didn't seem to care enough to tell on her, maybe.

Too late. The boy next to her offered an unenthusiastic wave to the class. "Nara Shikamaru."

And everyone was staring at her with their strange, colored eyes. She couldn't talk with three people looking at her; now her heart felt like it was ready to jump out of her throat.

"Go on," Kiku encouraged pleasantly.

"Hyu–hyu–hyu."

"She's the legendary stuttering Hyuuga," the boy who'd stolen her seat called and the whole class laughed. Kiku silenced them all with a heavy glare.

Hinata twisted her hands under her desk, her face bright red in embarrassment and sheer will not to cry. "Hyuuga Hinata," she finally managed to say, but so softly even Shikamaru beside her was straining to hear.

"It's all right, Hinata," Kiku said, though Hinata didn't know if it was to comfort her or simply so everyone heard her name. The train of names continued, but Hinata wasn't listening. Her head was swimming. She'd met a few members of the clan before that weren't nice to be around or who made her shiver when they looked at her, but nothing like these kids. If this was what non-clan was like, she didn't want to be here.

A shout from across the room broke through Hinata's frightened cocoon. A blonde boy stood proudly, one foot propped up on the table, one on his seat. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and one day I'm gonna be Hokage!"

The room burst into laughter as they had against Hinata, yet the boy held his ground. His blue eyes narrowed at the class. "You'll see! I'll beat up anyone that gets in my way!" The children's laughter only got louder.

Hinata watched the boy with awe. She wished she could stand up against all those nasty kids that way. No fear, no embarrassment, just confidence and certainty. It seemed so easy when he did it.

"All right everyone, settle down," Kiku snapped the classroom back into order. "Naruto, please sit down."

They finished going around the room without anymore fuss, and somehow Hinata had calmed a little since Naruto's outburst. It wasn't that she'd become braver –she still wished she could hide under her desk the rest of the day– but suddenly she wasn't alone. Maybe, just maybe, the day could get better. It gave her hope.

"Now that we all know each other a little," Kiku took command of the class again and returned to the podium to grab a stack of papers, "time for me to find out about all of you. A lot of you come from shinobi families, so I need to know what everyone already knows. If you don't know the answer to a question, don't worry, this is just for me, no grading yet."

She handed the papers off to one of the kids on the front row who passed them on. "I'll be assessing each of you on basic ninjutsu and genjutsu theory in this exam, and then afterwards we'll go outside and do some basic taijutsu. Remember, no grading so answer what you can and don't worry about what you can't."

Hinata stared at the paper Shikamaru gave her and a sick feeling swirled in her stomach. Hizashi had taught her a few things on there, and she recognized some terms from what the twins talked about from their classes, but that was all. So much focus had been on bringing her physically up to her age level they hadn't gotten to ninjutsu theory yet, nothing more than byakugan and that wasn't anywhere on the exam. Yet she could still remember Neji say he knew at least half of the exam they gave him on his first day. Shouldn't she have known some of those?

A half hour later Hinata handed back the exam that had only taken her five minutes to fill in the three or four questions she _thought_ she knew. The only thing that made her feel a little better was that the boy next to her –Shikamaru– hadn't filled in anything. Kiku spent the next couple hours going over different techniques that they would be learning throughout the year and what each child would need to do outside of the academy to keep up. At least that part didn't scare Hinata. Hizashi already had her doing most of what her teacher mentioned.

Once a sufficient number of the children had spent the last ten minutes fidgeting in their seats, Kiku knocked on the podium to gather their attention once more. "All right, we'll take a short break for lunch then outside for some taijutsu."

Hinata was still too nervous to be hungry, but she knew from her training with her uncle if she didn't eat when it was time she'd suffer for it later. Shikamaru left to go sit with a slightly chubby boy with circles on his cheeks a row down from them, leaving Hinata alone at their table. Not that Hinata was disappointed, after all the teasing she appreciated being alone.

Her pale gaze passed over the room as she carefully unwrapped the bento Ko had given her. Everyone was talking and laughing away in small groups of two or three. Hinata didn't need those mean kids. She'd go home and she'd have Neji and Osamu and Isamu to play with. She was going to go back to the clan eventually anyway. She didn't need non-Hyuugas. A flash of blond hair flickered in her peripheral; well, maybe she wouldn't mind being friends with him. He'd understand. (If only his exuberance didn't scare her.)

The lunch inside her bento box brought a smile back to Hinata's young face for the first time since she'd entered the classroom. Two apple bunnies sat alongside a panda face made of rice and cut-up nori. Tucked behind the apple bunnies was a little note bearing Naomi's handwriting. "Do your best!" was all it said, but it made the whole day seem better. She missed her aunt and uncle.

"It must be nice being a Hyuuga," an all too familiar and loathsome voice heckled. The leader of the three boys (she hadn't bothered to hear their names; she didn't want to know them) sat down in Shikamaru's chair and eyed Hinata's bento. Behind him his entourage stood in silent mockery of her.

"Wow, my mom never makes anything that fancy for me," one of the other two said with a whistle.

"She probably has servants and stuff that make it," the leader dismissed, causing a frightened scowl to cross her lips. Her aunt had made it for her, Hinata was certain of it. She'd made a similar one for Neji on his first day.

"Ooh, I don't think she liked that," the last one sneered.

"I bet Hyuugas get better food too," the leader continued, obviously pleased by her reaction. He snatched away one of her apple bunnies and popped it in his mouth before she could stop him. "Yup, much better," he fumbled through the mess of half-chewed food.

That was all Hinata could take. She grabbed her bento into her lap and curled around it protectively. Naomi had made the lunch for her and they were _stealing_ it. She didn't want to be around those horrible out-of-clan kids anymore. She wanted to go home. She should have listened to her uncle and never asked to come to the academy. It was an evil, mean place. Why did Neji and the twins love it so much?

"Hinata," her teacher called softly, scattering her tormentors back to their lair on the other side of the room. She knelt down next to Hinata's desk, a warm smile brightening her face. "Your uncle said this is the first time you've really been away from your family. How're you doing?"

Hinata didn't answer; she just poked at the orphaned apple bunny as tears threatened to overflow her white eyes.

Kiku gently helped her set the bento back onto the table. "You shouldn't let those boys bother you too much. Pretty soon they'll be far too busy to pick on anyone. It'll get better, I promise."

Still receiving silence, Kiku patted her hand and returned to the front of the class. Hinata stared at the happy panda face looking back at her and the lonely little apple bunny wondering when its friend was going to return. She couldn't bear to eat it now. In slow, sacred movements, she covered and retied the floral cloth around it. Not even her aunt's words of encouragement seemed enough anymore. She couldn't run away; she wasn't allowed to leave the academy without Ko, and he wouldn't be back until classes were over. Why wouldn't the day just end?

Shikamaru returned to his seat when Kiku called the class to order. Hinata didn't hear much of what she talked about, she was too busy dreading going out into the training yard. At least in the classroom those foul boys couldn't come near her while Kiku was lecturing.

Finally the loathsome words came out of her teacher's mouth. "Okay, let's go outside."

Hinata ran down the stairs to stand next to her teacher faster than any of the other children (even those in the front row). If she had to be out of her seat, then she'd stay as close to Kiku as earthly possible. Kiku smiled down at her, but Hinata could see something in the back of her gaze that she recognized from adults when they looked at children. She wasn't sure what it was, but she noticed it.

Kiku lead them out in a single-file line to the training yards on the side of the building. It was plain, semi-enclosed with a fence and scattered about with training posts or hanging targets. When everyone was gathered sitting on the ground (Hinata's tormentors thankfully at least ten kids away), Kiku asked, "So, has anyone already been taught some taijutsu from their families?"

Over half of the children raised their hands so –hesitantly– Hinata followed suit. Naomi always scolded her if she lied, even by omission. Kiku nodded to them all, pleased. "Wonderful. Why don't we have some friendly spars to see what everyone knows? Remember, today isn't about proving anything, it's just about finding out what you know."

She waved up one of Hinata's tormentors and a black-haired boy with a red and white fan design on his shirt to stand off in front of everyone. They nodded to each other before slipping into a strange stance Hinata had never seen before. She almost wondered more about it, but the spar was over in second, and to Hinata's delight, her tormentor was on his back.

"That's was great, Sasuke. Though I hardly expected less, being Itachi's brother. Your family's obviously been teaching you at home. Daisuke," –that was her tormentor's name– "that was very good, too. You have the basic form down well."

The two returned to the group and Kiku looked over everyone again. "How about Ino and Mia?"

A blonde girl and a brunette took the boys' place up front and slid into that same strange stance as the others. The fight took a little longer than the boys, but eventually the blonde girl managed to knock her opponent down and once again both were praised.

"Next, let's try Goro and . . . Hinata."

Hinata froze as she saw the leader of her tormentors stand and replace the girls now sitting down. Why would her teacher make her fight _him_?

"Come on, Hinata, why don't you show us what your uncle's taught you?" Kiku encouraged, a meaningful wink sent only for her. Her teacher was giving Hinata a chance to face her enemy, she realized. But Hinata didn't want to face him. Hinata wanted to run as far away from him as possible.

Still, everyone was watching and Hizashi had told her when she was out of the compound she represented the Hyuugas. And she had to represent them well. Slowly, Hinata stood up and faced off against her nightmare in the academy. She wasn't confident, not at all, but she tried to think of what Neji would do and knew he'd be brave no matter who he was sparring against.

Her opponent slipped into that strange stance the others were using and Hinata followed, dropping into the well-rehearsed starting form of her kata. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. _Pretend it's Neji-niisan. Pretend it's Neji-niisan. Pretend it's Neji-niisan._

Her tormentor's laugher broke Hinata out of her mental preparations. "What kind of stance is that?"

Hinata looked down at herself. Her form was right. Why was everyone laughing at her again? She searched her teacher's face for answers, but the confidence Kiku'd had a moment before was quickly disappearing.

"This is a good lesson for all of you who make it to becoming shinobi," she announced, reclaiming her certainty. "Not all families fight with the same style of taijutsu, so you may encounter enemies whose style you don't recognize at all. Hinata is from the Hyuuga family and they have a very specialized form of taijutsu called jyuuken. That's the form for jyuuken, isn't it Hinata?"

Hinata nodded her head furiously and tried to ignore the heat burning under her flushed skin. She might not have been as good as Neji, but she'd finally mastered her basic forms and it wasn't weird. _Theirs_ was weird.

"There's nothing wrong with using different styles," Kiku explained. "This is good for you too, Hinata. Only Hyuugas use jyuuken, so you'll need to start learning how to spar with people who don't use it." She motioned for the two children to start.

Goro rushed Hinata before she'd even recovered from her confusion, and for the split second her focus wasn't set, instinct took over. Hinata deflected the punch he threw at her, but the strangeness of parrying a closed fist instead of the fluid jyuuken strike befuddled her. She matched his next strike; still, the difference from her normal spar pushed her back. Nothing felt right. Goro's fist came at her again. Hinata steadied herself to deflect it, but the strike never connected. Goro smirked, grabbed her hands, and pushed Hinata to the ground.

"So much for the fancy Hyuuga taijutsu," he sneered, returning to his friends victorious.

"Goro, that wasn't a proper spar," Kiku admonished.

"We're supposed to be ready for anything, right?" he countered innocently.

Kiku kept an cautioning glare on Goro before easing up and motioning Hinata to join the group again. "You did fine, Hinata. You'll get used to fighting people who don't use jyuuken soon enough."

Kiku called the next group up and everyone's taunting attention diverted from Hinata. She sat on the edge of the group, dirt on her back and tears in her eyes, willing herself with every last ounce of strength in her beaten and battered confidence not to cry. Not in front of them. Not in front of _him_. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face against them, just breathing. One, breathe in. Two, breathe out. One, breathe in. Two, breathe out. Over and over she repeated it until Kiku had them all stand and run laps around the yard.

Kiku ended their outside training by having them all practice katas of this strange out-of-clan taijutsu. It felt unnatural to Hinata; it didn't move right with the way her body had been conditioned. She wanted to ask to practice her jyuuken katas instead, but that would only draw attention to her and, worse, more taunting from her three tormentors (if not the whole class).

The class returned to the room, slightly dirty, tired, and sore for those of who didn't practice taijutsu on a daily basis. Hinata just wanted the horrible day to be over with finally. It felt like she'd been trapped there for days and days with no chance of escape. As her teacher made a few last remarks and notes for the next day (which Hinata had no intention of coming back for), Hinata had her uneaten bento tucked securely in her lap and all her muscles poised to flee. Ko would be waiting outside and they could leave this awful place and never, ever, ever come back.

"And that's it for today. I'll see everyone tomorrow." Kiku words were a starting pistol to Hinata. She was the first one out the door, her little feet pushing her as fast as she could. She didn't bother stopping at Neji's classroom, she just wanted out, and the tears she'd managed to hold back all day poured without restraint before she even made it through the front doors.

Whatever pleasant expression had been on Ko's face to welcome her disappeared in a heartbeat when she grabbed his hand and yanked him away with all the strength she could muster. "I wanna go home! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!"

"Hinata-sama, calm down. What's happened?" Ko soothed, squatting down to see her on her level.

"I wanna go home!" she cried. Pulling and twisting in a vain attempt to be released so she could run away, back to the clan where things made sense and people didn't laugh at her because her eyes were white.

"Hinata-sama, please calm down. I'll take you home, but we have to wait for Neji-sama or he'll wonder what's happened." Ko stood up again and searched the sea of children for Neji, all the while keeping a firm hold to Hinata's hand.

Minutes passed and still no Neji. Had she been calmer she might have thought he went to her classroom to meet her and that was cause of his delay, but Hinata was far from calm. The longer she waited the harder she cried and the scarier that building looming over her became. They were supposed to be on their way home, not stuck there still. She tugged and squirmed to free her hand of Ko, but he was too strong.

Finally three pairs of white eyes settled on the waiting pair, but what Hinata saw back made even her hysteria pause a moment. She wiped away the tears clouding her vision and looked again. She still didn't know what to make of it; neither did Ko apparently.

Neji walked –or more accurately was being forcibly ushered– towards them by the twins, each of whom kept a firm grip on his shoulder. Splotches of blood stained Neji's shirt, the source of which was his nose, still bleeding as they walked.

"What happened to you, Neji-sama?" Ko gasped, handing Hinata off to the twins in order to wipe the blood slowly dripping from Neji's nose.

"We were on our way out when we saw him in the hall fighting with a couple kids," Osamu explained.

"They were making fun of Hinata-chan," Neji defended as sternly as a seven-year-old boy could. He looked at Hinata's tear-streaked face and glowered. "You shouldn't have stopped me."

Ko sighed and grabbed both Neji and Hinata by the hand. "Let's get you both home. Hizashi-sama's certainly going to have his hands full with you two today."

The walk home was not fast enough for Hinata, who cried the entire way despite coddling from both Neji and the twins. They tried to get her to tell them what happened, but she didn't want to remember it. The only thing that was going to make this day better to Hinata was her aunt and uncle promising she never had to return to that miserable academy.

When they were close enough to see Naomi waiting at the gates of the Hyuuga compound Ko finally released the children from his grip. Hinata burst away from them and threw herself into her confused aunt's embrace.

"Don't make me go back! I promise I'll do everything you say and I'll train really, really, really hard. Just don't make me go back!" She wept and clung to her aunt, not noticing Ko and Neji joining them or the twins silently slipping away.

Naomi petted her hair in slow, gentle strokes. "It's okay, you're safe here. You're home. Why don't we all go inside and get cleaned up and then both of you," –she sent a sideways glance at Neji– "can tell me what happened today? Ko, can you go see if Yumi-san is free to take a look at Neji. I'm sure Hinata would enjoy a visit from her grandmother, too." Hinata pulled back at Naomi's urging and nodded. Ko bowed and left them.

"Now then," Naomi wiped the tears from Hinata's flushed cheeks, "let's go inside and get both of you a bath. You don't want your grandmother seeing you all dirty and mussed up like you are, do you?"

She shook her head and sniffed away the last of her sobs. Naomi took the bento still in Hinata's hand and stilled a moment. She shook it slightly as if to test the weight. "Hinata, didn't you eat today?"

The tears flooded down her face again before she could even cry out.

Naomi bundled Hinata into her strong arms and took them both inside. At Naomi's instruction, servants gathered them up and whisked them off to be bathed and dressed while Naomi disappeared into a private conference with Hizashi, who'd come out at the commotion Hinata made. The hot bath helped, as did being home and Naomi's tender words earlier. Most of all it was knowing that those mean kids would never get near her inside the compound that finally relaxed Hinata.

Clean and dressed and no longer a blubbering mess of fear and tears, Hinata found Naomi and Hizashi waiting for her in the sitting room with a steaming cup of tea. She took the seat between them unsure of what the serious expressions they wore meant.

"Your instructor came by just now, Hinata," Hizashi started in a firm, yet tender voice. "She told us what happened today, about the boys who were teasing you."

At the mention of those awful boys the whole day's affair gushed out of Hinata in one long, frantic mass. "They were horrible and mean and I didn't do anything to them but they kept teasing me about being Hyuuga and they said Hyuugas are snobby and I don't know what snobby means but they said it all mean-like and they made fun of my jyuuken and everyone laughed at me and they stole the apple bunny Aunt Naomi made me!"

Hinata wasn't sure why, but the last offence was the worst and very nearly sent her into tears again. She took a drink of tea to try to quell the sobs before they came. Naomi pulled her into a half-embrace and rubbed her arm soothingly.

"You can't let what those boys said get to you, Hinata," Hizashi counseled.

"But everyone was laughing and I didn't do anything wrong!" Hinata whined. "Please don't make me go back. I'll do what you wanted me to. I'll train really hard here."

Her aunt and uncle exchanged a look Hinata didn't like. She wasn't sure what it meant, but it made her stomach twist just witnessing it. Naomi answered first, her voice gentle and patient, "Hinata, do you know why we agreed to let you go to the academy in the first place?"

Hinata looked between them confused. "I asked?"

Hizashi shook his head. "No, not because you asked. We sent you because you need to learn to interact with non-clan and you need to learn how to handle people who aren't nice. It's a part of growing up."

"But non-clan are mean and horrible. Don't make me go back," she pleaded.

"That's exactly why you need to go back," Naomi said. "Not all non-clan are like that, and you won't understand that until you go out and meet them."

"But . . ." Hinata gazed up at them with all the terror and horror that day inspired painted plain as day in her white eyes.

Hizashi placed a comforting hand on her head but didn't waver. "Hinata, even if they're mean to you, you must learn to deal with it. I'm not trying to be cruel, but the truth is that you'll one day be the authority of the clan and you'll have to face many people who don't like you and who you'll dislike. You won't be able to runaway then or hide behind Neji (and yes, he _will_ be punished for that fight). You have to stand strong and proud against anyone, because how you handle yourself is how the Hyuugas will be. And the Hyuugas aren't weak and when we're frightened we stand up to whatever scares us, and so must you. You may not always be stronger than your enemy, but you must be better than them."

Hinata stared at the ground before her in disbelief. They were going to make her go back? It didn't seem real, yet their expressions were resolute and she knew no amount of crying and begging would change their minds. "How can I be better than them if I'm not stronger?" she whispered in defeat.

"By not letting them win," Naomi answered firmly, forcing Hinata's head up. "By going back to that classroom and showing them you won't be bullied into hiding and that no matter what they do you'll always come back, because they aren't worth your fear or your tears. You show them you can do anything you put your mind to and they can't stop you."

"But . . . what if they all laugh at me again?"

Hizashi pushed in her back and forced Hinata to sit up straight. "You hold your head up and let them, because you'll know that one day you'll prove them all fools for laughing at you. One day you'll be a great leader to this clan, and that's all that matters. But in order to be that leader, first you have to face things you don't like and people that scare you."

"I have to?" Hinata tried one last time.

Naomi kissed her atop the head and hugged her. "You do, and I promise it'll get better, but until it does, Uncle Hizashi and I will be here for you every day when you get home. And Neji will always be there for you."

"So can you do this us, for the clan?" Hizashi asked, not like an adult asks a child with patronizing patience, but like an adult asks another adult with serious expectations. He'd never talked to her that way before.

Wiping the unshed tears from her eyes, Hinata nodded.

* * *

Hinata stared at the bright purple wrapping cloth holding her bento as Naomi walked her and Neji to the compound gate where Ko was waiting. Naomi gave Neji a kiss on the cheek (which he promptly wiped off) and turned to Hinata.

"Do you want me to take you to class today?"

Hinata closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shook her head furiously. She really wanted her to –she wanted to stay home and never see that place ever again– but she'd told Hizashi she'd face her fears and Hinata knew if Naomi was there she'd break down again once they arrived.

Naomi planted a wet, smothering kiss on Hinata's cheek until she giggled. "Good luck, Hinata. And you," –she leveled a cool stare on Neji– "absolutely no fighting outside of class for _any_ reason. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mom," he replied, though a tiny scowl was set on his childish face. He snatched Hinata's hand protectively in silent defiance.

"Have a good day," Naomi called as they headed out.

The streets were just as busy as the day before, with all those strange looking eyes darting back and forth and completely over-looking them. Hinata was beginning to understand that the Hyuugas were only a small part of the village, but that didn't make the majority any less unnerving to her.

"Where's Isamu-kun and Osamu-kun?" she asked Ko in order to distract herself from where she was going.

"They left earlier, Hinata-sama. They had something to do before class," he answered.

Hinata sighed and stepped closer to Neji. Having Neji made her feel more comfortable, having Neji and the twins was even better. The twins were bigger; she could hide behind them easier, and she really wanted to hide behind someone when the red and orange rooftops of the academy came into view.

Ko escorted them inside again, taking longer than before to make sure Neji entered (and stayed) in his classroom before moving onto Hinata's room.

"Good luck, Hinata-sama," Ko bid her off warmly. She wished she could see luck as easily as chakra with byakugan. If she could, she'd search out the mother lode and bathe in it each day before class. Taking a deep breath, Hinata opened the door.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama!" Matching byakugan eyes and hyper smiles greeted Hinata behind the door. The veins across their temples receded from the twins' faces as they knelt down to dwarf her in an over-exaggerated hug that left Hinata dumb from shock.

"We told you, Hinata-sama, if anyone messed with you, tell us," Osamu whispered in her ear.

"Neji-kun doesn't know the best way to screw with people, yet" Isamu agreed just as quietly. "You fight them and they come back for revenge. You've got to inspire terror in them to make them stop."

Osamu snickered. "And nothing inspires terror like matching byakugan gazes staring at you for fifteen minutes."

"Blinking in union," Isamu finished.

Before Hinata could even process what was happening they planted mirroring kisses on her cheeks in perfect time and called out loud enough for the entire class to hear, "Make sure you tell us all about your day, Hinata-sama. We'll be waiting."

And they were gone, leaving Hinata red-face and dazed amidst a sea of snickering children. When she finally shook off her surprise and slunk up the stairs to her desk in the corner, she peeked over at her three tormentors. They were all bruised up from their fight with Neji and avidly avoiding meeting Hinata's gaze. As much as Hinata was dancing inside that her tormentors might actually leave her alone, did the twins have to do it in such an embarrassing way?

Shikamaru sighed as she sat down next to him and rolled his head over his arms to look at her. "That's the reason my Mom isn't allowed to bring to me the academy."

"Huh?" Hinata blinked at him. Did he just talk to her?

"My mom," he explained, misunderstanding her confusion as a question about what he'd said, "she's either scary or so lovey dovey it's embarrassing. That's why Dad brings me. Overbearing families are so troublesome."

Was that really happening? He was talking to her – not laughing or teasing or being mean, just talking.

Hinata laughed. "Yeah, they can be."


	7. Making Friends

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

The weather had gotten hotter that week, making the ground dry and stirring up dust into the wind. Even the trees felt the unusually blistering heat and had withered into crackling leaves that filled the breeze with a rustling chorus. So it was a treat for the children to skip their normal evening training with Hizashi and run away to the branch house for a dip in the pond. The water was warmer than normal but still a welcome relief from the heat, though the sun dropping low on the horizon helped, too. Ko sat against a nearby tree reading as the four children lolled lazily in the water. (The twins insisted that in the branch house Hinata didn't need an escort, but Naomi ignored their complaints – until they became genin at least.)

Hinata floated on her back, idly kicking just enough to keep her moving around the placid pond. Even the boys were too hot to be rambunctious and preferred to lounge in the deep where the water protected them from the worst of the heat.

"Neji-niisan," she called, diverting her course to drift closer to her brother-cousin, "how'd you make friends when you first went to the academy?"

"Neji-kun didn't _need_ to make friends," Osamu teased.

"When you're number one in your class everyone wants to be your friend," Isamu finished, and the two dunked Neji's head for good measure.

Hinata kicked herself upright as Neji sputtered his way to the surface again. "Well, then," she started slowly to regain their attention, "how did you two make friends?"

Osamu grinned. "We don't make friends. People just naturally love us."

"Except the ones who don't," Isamu corrected, "but we don't care about them."

"I thought you _were_ making friends," Neji interrupted the twins joking with concern seeping into his voice.

Hinata pouted and scrunched up her nose. "Well, I can talk to people. Some of them are okay, but I don't really have any friends, not like they all have. And it's not the same as when I talk to you or Isamu-kun or Osamu-kun. How do I make friends like that?"

All three boys stared at her, but their attention was lost in thought. Osamu was the first to speak up. "I never really tried before. It's not something you do, it just happens."

Isamu nodded. "Yeah, you don't make friends, you _become_ friends."

"But how?"

"By talking to them, getting to know them," Neji suggested.

"You make it sound easy," she muttered, her pout growing stronger the more obtuse their answers became. She'd hoped for a straightforward method that would let her make friends easily.

The three boys exchanged an uneasy glance. None of them had ever had problems making friends, but –remembering back to when they'd each first met Hinata– none of them were as shy as Hinata was with strangers.

"I've got an idea," Neji popped up, bringing his hands together and splashing everyone in the process. "Make friends with someone else who can't make friends. You can't be the only one in your class having trouble. So look around and find someone else who's alone and make friends with them."

"Hey, that's actually a good idea, Neji-kun," Osamu gasped in mock shock and mussed Neji's wet hair.

"Don't sound so surprised," Neji fussed, sending the older twin an annoyed glare.

A mischievous grin grew across Osamu's face. "With the way you're going, someone's got to keep you humble or being number one will go to your head."

Hinata thought about it as Neji did his best to return the earlier dunking on his older cousin. Make friends with someone else who was alone. That didn't sound as scary as talking to everyone together in their little groups.

"You know, you've always got us, Hinata-sama," Isamu said, coming up behind her in the water to avoid the others' ruckus. "You'll never not have friends as long as Neji-kun and us are here."

Hinata grinned bigger and brighter than she ever did at school. "I know." The academy might not be the horrible place it was that first day, but she still loved the clan better.

* * *

The classroom always had a different atmosphere at lunch. It was relaxed and happy and excited all at once. Kids gathered up into their private groups and chattered away without the censure of their teacher's reproachful eyes. Hinata sat in her corner, the bento on her desk still wrapped in the bright pink and yellow cloth as she looked around the room.

After a couple weeks of class everyone else had fairly well divided amongst themselves. There weren't many who weren't left alone like her. In the middle of the class sat a boy in a high-collared coat. No one was talking to him, but Hinata got the distinct impression he didn't want anyone talking to him (that and she was pretty sure she'd seen bugs crawling into his sleeve earlier). The pink-haired girl who used to be alone now sat with the blonde girl, and Hinata wasn't about to disturb them the way they were whispering close to each other.

That left one other person to try: the blond boy, Naruto, the one who, like Hinata, had been laughed at that first day. In front of him was a bowl of instant ramen, not a homemade bento like most of the kids had, but he was eating it with more enthusiasm than anyone else. He'd been the only person that first day that Hinata had even considered friend material, but there was always one major drawback. He was so _loud_. Not even the twins were as exuberant as he was, and that was saying something. Still, no one sat in the chair next to him or bothered to say hello when they passed. Hinata gathered up her courage, picked up her bento, and –slowly– proceeded across the room.

She passed her former tormentors on the way, each of them turning away with bitter grimaces on their faces. They hadn't bothered her since that first day (just as the twins had said), but she could still feel the hate in their gazes when they looked at her. She tried to ignore it, listening to her uncle's counsel that sometimes she couldn't get out of dealing with people who didn't like her.

She didn't think it was polite to simply take the chair next to him (and what if he didn't want to be her friend), so she stood behind it. Her fingers twirled the knot in her bento's tie as she tried to force herself to speak.

"Hello!" the word burst from her like an explosion and startled her would-be friend right into choking on the ramen still hanging from his mouth.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked as he coughed off the last of the inhaled ramen and attempted to drown the internal irritation with his water.

"What was that about?" he asked, still coughing and beating his chest to quell the choking sensation.

"I'm sorry," Hinata repeated softly. The hope in her eyes had soured some, that wasn't the way to make friends. "Can I . . . can . . . can . . . can I . . ." The words didn't seem capable of finding their way out after the earlier explosion, and his strange blue eyes staring at her only shoved her courage further down.

"You're kinda weird," he blurted before she could even ask to sit down.

Tears welled in her pale eyes and she ran off to her corner in defeat. She just wasn't made to make friends. She didn't know how to talk to people, and was it _her_ fault strangers scared her? They were called strangers for a reason: they were strange. If only she had Neji's confidence or she could listen to what her uncle said and not care what everyone thought of her. But she did. She didn't want to be 'weird', but the more she tried to be normal the more she failed at it. Maybe she should just give up and stick to Neji and the twins.

The sharp, high-pitched screech of Shikamaru's chair being pulling out nearly made her fall out of her own. She really needed to learn to calm down, Hinata realized as she forced herself to breathe again. When she turned to apologize for freaking out it was Naruto, not Shikamaru, sitting beside her. His blue eyes locked on her white ones, and as much as she wanted to look away there was something in the seriousness of his expression that held her.

"Were you trying to talk to me?" he asked, not a laugh or jeer anywhere in his voice. She nodded, too afraid she wouldn't get the words out if she tried. He kept that serious stare on her the same way a Hyuuga would size up an opponent.

"Do you always stutter?" he continued bluntly.

"When I'm . . ." Hinata paused and twisted up all her willpower to make her tongue and mouth move the way she wanted them too, "when I'm nervous."

"Why are you nervous?"

Hinata tried to keep calm even though her face was hot enough to start frying food on. Having lived with the Hyuugas where subtly was studied, Naruto's direct approach was like a slap in the face. She turned to the desk and prayed it would be easier to talk to the table rather than Naruto.

"I was going to . . . ask . . . if you . . . I mean, you don't have to . . . but . . . would you . . . want . . . maybe . . . to be . . . friends . . ." By the time she finished Hinata was practically talking to the wall behind her. And he thought she was weird before, she must seem like a complete freak to him now.

"You mean it? You wanna be friends?" he asked, and, still refusing to look at him, she nodded. Then Naruto did what she knew he would; he burst out laughing. "That's a weird thing to be nervous about."

Hinata snuck a peek at him. Laughter she understood, but what did he mean? The mocking she'd expected in his eyes was nowhere to be seen. In its place was the biggest, brightest, widest smile Naruto's face could manage. He kicked back in the chair and relaxed. "I'm Naruto. What's your name again?"

"Hi–Hinata," she stammered, a matching smile slowly growing exponentially across her face. He hadn't laughed _at _her. He was happy. He wanted to be her friend. She'd made a friend all on her own. Neji was going to be so proud of her when she told him.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he started, pointing to her bento, but jumped out of his seat before she could answer. "My ramen!"

Dashing back to his seat, Naruto snatched his ramen off the table and hurried back to plop down next to her again. "Ah, I almost forgot about it," he said as much to himself as Hinata and flashed her a ramen-filled smile. "I love ramen."

Hinata's blazing hot face had cooled to an innocent blush now that she felt slightly more relaxed next to him. She quickly unwrapped her bento as he slurped up his meal. "I've never had instant ramen before," she admitted.

"Never had instant ramen?" He stared at her, noodles hanging from his half-open mouth. "How do you live?"

Hinata wasn't quite sure what he meant, but the seriousness had returned to his eyes so he wasn't joking. "My aunt never lets us eat anything instant."

"Your aunt?" he questioned, completely switching conversations at the distraction.

"I live with my aunt and uncle. My parents . . . they're . . ." Hinata turned away from him and poked at the rice in her bento with her chopsticks. She still had trouble saying they were dead. Talking about them was one thing, but the word 'dead' was too much. It made her remember the funerals and that intense feeling of being alone.

What shocked her most in all the confusion since saying hello to him was how soft Naruto's boisterous voice suddenly turned. "My parents are dead, too."

"Do you . . . do you miss them?" Hinata asked quietly and took a bite of rice to cover up her lingering sorrow. He was the first kid she'd met whose parents were dead too, and when she looked him in the eyes there was something familiar in them. Something she'd seen in herself. "I miss mine."

"I don't have anything to miss. I never met mine," he said quietly, but when she looked in his face (even not being as good as the twins at reading people), Hinata could see the lie. He might not have known them, but he missed them as surely as she missed hers.

She let the lie pass, though. She couldn't even say the word dead, far be it for her to force him to go any further into something he didn't want to face. Instead, she smiled solemnly and continued her meal. "So do you live with an aunt and uncle too, or grandparents?"

"No," he dismissed quickly and downed the last of his instant ramen. "People take care of me." Hinata wanted to pry a little further but knew better. The truth of it was in his face, Naruto wouldn't talk on it any more.

She picked at her food a moment, trying to figure out how to brighten the conversation. Not that she wholly disliked it; it was comforting to know there was someone else out there that understood. She loved Neji dearly, but he couldn't understand sometimes. Not completely.

Hinata carefully picked up one of the tiny sausages, painstakingly cut and boiled to curl into a little octopus, complete with nori eyes. Naomi wasn't making her lunch everyday anymore, but since that awful first day Hinata always had something cute stuck in her bento to cheer her up. Sometimes it was the highlight of her day. The idea popped in her head like a flash of light, and she held out the octopus sausage to Naruto.

"Would you like one?" she asked and a genuinely happy smile returned to her lips.

Naruto stared at the sausage octopus like it was a foreign creature balanced between her chopsticks. Finally, he took it, turning it over in his fingers curiously. "I've never actually seen someone make these before, but then I've never had a homemade bento before either."

"Never had a homemade bento before? How do you live?" Hinata gasped in the same seriousness Naruto had about his ramen and earned a snicker in reply.

"I'd say we need to switch lunch one day, but then I won't get my ramen," he joked. "I really do love ramen."

Hinata didn't notice her teacher approaching until she was right on top of them. There was something strange in her expression that Hinata'd never noticed before and it unnerved her, though she couldn't figure out why.

"How're you doing, Hinata? No one's been bothering today, I hope." Kiku's gaze flickered so quickly to Naruto, Hinata almost missed it. It was so fast Hinata didn't even have time to try and read the meaning behind it. It was probably nothing anyway.

"No, I made a friend," Hinata announced proudly. And she wasn't even stuttering around him anymore. That was like a bonus to her.

"How nice." Kiku smiled a peculiar, strained grin at the two children before looking back at Hinata again. "You better hurry and finish your lunch, Hinata. Lessons will be resuming soon. And Naruto, try and pay more attention."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her as she left them. "I _do_ pay attention, she just doesn't teach anything good. Just wait till I'm Hokage. I'll have them fire her for being a bad teacher."

"I hope you're Hokage one day," Hinata said.

"You mean that? You want me to be Hokage?"

Hinata nodded. "Yeah, then when I have to talk to the Hokage when I'm clan head I'll be talking to my friend and I won't be so nervous."

Naruto looked away sheepishly. "No one's ever believed me before. But I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever!"

The passion and conviction within him burned hot enough to paint Hinata's cheeks a fair pink. He might have been too loud and intense at times, but she still wished she had just a fraction of his confidence. Hizashi wouldn't scold her for not standing up for herself if she was as assertive as Naruto.

"Hey, what'd you mean by when you're clan head?" Naruto asked completely calmed and jumping topics once again.

"I'm going to be the head of the Hyuuga clan when I'm older," she explained. "It's like being Hokage, but only to Hyuugas. I want to be a good clan head, but I'm weak still. I get Uncle Hizashi in trouble with Grandpa and the others because he trains me and I'm still not strong enough. But I want to be better, and I try really hard."

"I know!" Naruto cried, snatching Hinata's hands and shaking them up and down until her chopsticks fell out of her hands. "We can train together! Since I'm gonna be an awesome Hokage one day and you're gonna be that clan head thing, if we train together then we'll both be even more awesome!"

Hinata's head spun from his jerking, but an unstable smile struggled to settle on her lips anyway. She'd never been invited to do anything before, not outside the compound at least. As happy as the invitation made her, her joy faltered. "But . . . I'm not allowed out of the Hyuuga compound except to come to school."

"Really?" Naruto's face wrinkled up like he'd smelled fish gone bad. "That sucks."

"The compound's nice," she defended. She'd never wanted to leave the compound really, so it'd never been a restriction to her before. But now . . . "Maybe you can come to the compound."

Naruto groaned and slumped down into his chair. "Would adults be there?"

Hinata nodded. "They stay away when I'm in the main house, but I'm not allowed to go to the branch house without Ko or Aunt Naomi."

"I hate being around adults," Naruto sulked. "You have a weird life, you know? What kid can't just go out and play?"

"I'm the heir to the clan," she said with a shrug. It was the mantra she'd grown up with. Those four words, 'heir to the clan,' explained every eccentricity and restriction of her life. Questioning it seemed silly.

"But," she started when Naruto looked ready to slide out of his chair from his slump, "you could meet Neji-niisan and Isamu-kun and Osamu-kun in the compound. They're really nice and the twins, Isamu-kun and Osamu-kun, they love getting into trouble. (They even risk getting Aunt Naomi mad and let me join them sometimes)."

There was an odd emotion that passed over Naruto's expression. Hinata was sure the twins would have known what it was better than her. It almost looked like disappointment, but that didn't make sense to Hinata.

"You have a brother?"

Hinata fidgeted with her now half empty bento box. "Well, sort of. Neji-niisan's my cousin, but we've lived together since my parents . . . since Uncle Hizashi and Aunt Naomi moved to the main house to take care of me. He's a year older than me, so I think of him like my big brother. He acts like one. You'd like him. And he's really smart. He's the top of his class, so if we all train together then he can teach us things before Kiku-sensei does."

"Before Kiku-sensei?" A spark of hope broke through Naruto's dejected glower and in seconds that blinding, smug smile once again took up half his face. "Then _I'd_ get to be number one in class and everyone would know I really would be Hokage one day! Okay, I guess I can deal with adults for a while."

Kiku took her place at the front of class to the collective groan of the entire student body. For the first time, Hinata agreed with them. She was actually enjoying her lunch break with Naruto. He grabbed his empty ramen cup and, as Shikamaru approached, leaned in close to Hinata's ear. "I'll meet you after class."

Hinata was wrapping up the leftover from her bento when Shikamaru sat down. He eyed her curiously for a moment before finally asking, "Are you all right? Your face is all red."

"I'm fine," she squeaked back through a smile.

The rest of the lessons couldn't have been slower if Kiku had gone to the clock and turned it back eight hours to start the day over again. She had a friend, a real, honest-to-goodness friend, who wanted to hang out with her and not just at school. So he was a bit more –excitable– than she normally liked to be around. She could get used to it. She got used to the twins and they were as excitable as Hyuuga kids got. Hinata just hoped her aunt didn't mind her inviting someone over. (Surely she wouldn't, not Hinata's first school friend.)

Hinata was practically bouncing in her chair by the time Kiku finally released them, but for once she didn't run out of the room as fast as she could. Actually, it was rather strange to wait there, everyone milling about with their friends as they slowly headed for the door. Now she was like them. She was . . . normal.

"So," Naruto drawled out as he popped in behind her and casually rocked back onto his heels, "what exactly is 'the compound' you kept talking about?"

"It's where the Hyuuga clan lives," Hinata explained. She grabbed her bento box and the two headed down the stairs.

"And what's the Hyuuga 'clan'?" The way Naruto drew out the word she could practically hear him making air quotes around the word (not that he did, but she still heard it in his voice).

"It's all the different families that are Hyuuga, that have eyes like mine," she said, pointing to her white eyes. "We all live at the compound." She'd come to accept that people outside the clan didn't always understand them, but this was the first time anyone had asked her about it (or wasn't trying to make fun of her).

"Wow, that must be a _big_ house!"

Hinata giggled at the way he threw out his arms, nearly smacking a couple kids in the hall. "There're lots of houses inside the compound. We don't all live in one. Though, mine _is_ kind of big."

"Lucky," he whistled, "the place I live in is small. Then again you don't get to leave it, so it better be big."

If it could've, Hinata's smile got even wider. Neji waited outside his classroom for her, like he did everyday, with a smug little smirk on his face. He eyed Naruto up and down with his blank eyes (as a Hyuuga only could).

"So, who's this?" Neji asked, the smugness seeping into his young voice.

"It's my _friend_," Hinata stroked her brother-cousin's ego, "Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun, this is Neji-niisan."

"Man, you guys really do have the same eyes," Naruto gawked.

Neji slipped Hinata a skeptical glance, to which she prompted returned a silent 'He's nice!' nose scrunch. They might not be at the twins' level of non-verbal communication, but Hinata and Neji knew each other well enough.

"I invited him over to train with us," Hinata continued before Naruto could notice the interruption, "you don't think Aunt Naomi and Uncle Hizashi will mind, do you?"

"I don't see why they– HEY!" Neji was cut off by two long arms plopping down on his head so the boy they belonged to could stare down at Hinata and Naruto. His twin came up behind Hinata and draped an arm over her shoulder, twisting around her to eye Naruto alone.

"Who's this with our Hinata-sama?" asked the one successfully avoiding Neji's attempts to detach him.

To which his counterpart replied, "I'd say our Hinata-sama might just have herself a little friend."

"Hey, who're you callin' little?" Naruto defended.

The two exchanged a 'glance'. "Quiet down, kiddo, we're only teasing," Neji's twin dismissed.

"So Hinata-sama, aren't you going to introduce us," her twin asked with a cheeky grin. Time to play 'Guess the twin.'

"Of course," she slowly started, looking between the two identical faces for some clue to tell them apart. (She knew better than to trust the part of their hair like most did.) "Isamu-kun, Osamu-kun, this is Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun, this is . . ." –she pointed to her twin first, then to Neji's– "Isamu-kun and Osamu-kun."

The twin still smothering Neji glowered at his brother. "Otouto, you're giving us away. Hinata-sama and Neji-kun have guessed us right over half the times this week."

Isamu straightened up indignantly. "Me? How do you know it's not you giving us away?"

"I'm older," Osamu answered, as if nothing was more logical. Isamu just stuck his tongue out.

Naruto interrupted their remaining escapade. "It's kinda weird seeing all you guys together. I can't tell who you're looking at."

Osamu and Isamu sent Neji a concerned looked, but when he just shrugged, Hinata wrinkled her nose up at all three of them. Just because Naruto was blunt didn't mean he wasn't nice to her.

"Okay, okay, we'll be nice," Osamu yielded much to Naruto's confusion. "Any friend of Hinata-sama's a friend of ours."

"Are they your cousins, too?" Naruto whispered to Hinata.

"No, they're just Hyuugas," Hinata answered.

"Just Hyuugas?" the twins gasped in unified horror. "Hinata-sama, you wound us."

That same strange expression that was on Naruto's face at lunch returned, and Hinata saw both twins' brows raise in surprise. She was going to have to ask what that was later. From the questioning look on Neji's face he understood Naruto's expression as little as she did, but hadn't missed the twins' response either.

"Come on, let's get going already. They'll lock us in the academy the way you three are mucking about," Osamu chided (as if he weren't an active participant) and ushered Neji out with the rest of the crowd while Isamu did the same to Hinata and Naruto.

Ko waiting in his usual spot near the road (it was his concession to the children's sense of independence), but the normally warm expression he greeted them with disappeared the closer they got. Before they were even halfway across the yard, Ko broke from his sentinel position and hurried to meet them. The look in his eyes was something Hinata had never witnessed before, and –she didn't know why– it made the twins pull her securely between them. The firm hands on each of her shoulders warned her something was far worse than she could read in Ko's tense, creased face.

"Hinata-sama," Ko called, reaching to take her hand only for the twins to pull her a step back with them.

Hinata didn't understand what was happening, but she wished everyone would relax. "Ko, it's all right if Naruto-kun comes with us, right? I invited him."

Ko looked on Naruto not like a child, but as if he were an alien thing standing next to her. "Hinata-sama, you shouldn't associate with that boy. Come with me now."

Neji sided over to block Ko from easily snatching Hinata away. All the excitement and joy that had filled her since she'd made friends with Naruto was quickly melting away at the sight of –disgust– in Ko's eyes. Why would be he be looking at Naruto with disgust?

"B–bu–bu–" The scarier he looked the harder it was for Hinata to force her voice out. But Naruto was her first friend and what Ko said wasn't fair. "But he's my friend."

Ko shoved past Neji and yanked Hinata out from her young guards' hold. "I'm sorry, Hinata-sama. We're going now."

"You can't treat Hinata-sama like that!" Osamu yelled. Neji and the twins ran around to try and stop Ko.

"Enough!" Ko snapped, sending all three boys back with the heavy force of his glare. "I'll do whatever needs to be done to fulfill my duty to watch over Hinata-sama and the three of you don't have say in this. Now I'm taking Hinata-sama home."

Hinata trembled as Ko dragged her away from the academy. Naruto, who all this time had been quieter than she'd known him in the academy, stared back at her with pain and anger, but not surprise, simmering in the shadow of his blue eyes.

It didn't make sense. Why was Ko so horrible to Naruto? Why couldn't she be friends with him? Neji slipped in beside Hinata, catching her when the tears blurred her vision and made her stumble in the haste of Ko's retreat.

"It's okay," he whispered over and over to her, holding tight to her hand in some small comfort.

Naomi waited at the gate to the compound to greet them as she did each day after school, and only when all three could easily see the worry growing on her motherly face did Ko release Hinata and Neji to run to her.

"Neji, Hinata. What's happened?" Naomi asked as the two small children ran into her arms.

Since Hinata's crying head was firmly pressed into Naomi's shoulder, Neji answered for them both. "Hinata-chan invited a friend over but Ko said she couldn't be friends with him and dragged her home and was awful to her." Neji glared back at Ko. "He's not supposed to talk to Hinata-chan like that."

"Ko, explain this," Naomi asked as neutrally as she could with Hinata weeping in her embrace.

Ko carefully leaned down to whisper into Naomi's ear too softly for Hinata and Neji to hear. Hinata didn't care what he said, just so long as Naomi yelled at him and made everything better.

"Are you sure?" Naomi gasped, making both Hinata and Neji stall. That wasn't the reaction they expected. Ko nodded and, with a dismissive jerk of Naomi's head, slunk away.

Naomi gently pushed the children away and centered Hinata in front of her. She brushed Hinata's hair out of her smudged, tear-streaked face. Naomi strained to smile, but Hinata couldn't find any happiness in her eyes. "Hianta, I know it's going to be hard for you to understand this, but that boy you were with, you can't be friends with him."

"Why?" she whimpered. The more people said it the more Hinata's body curled in trying to hide away from them.

"There are things you don't know, things I can't explain, but you must trust me. Don't associate with that boy anymore."

Why was everyone against Naruto? No wonder he didn't like adults. Hinata tried not to face the serious, demanding gaze burrowing into her from Naomi's pale eyes.

"Hinata," she pressed, "promise me you won't go near that boy again."

With no options left, Hinata tore out of Naomi's grasp and ran into the house. She ignored her aunt's call or the trailing footsteps following after her; she just ran with all her might to the only place that made her feel safe. The one place that she could hide in and no one could take her away. She threw open the thin shoji door and bolted beneath her father's desk, pulling the chair in until her body curled around its legs.

Hinata didn't want to see any of them. She didn't want to hear that the first friend she made she'd have to ignore. She wanted her mother and father back; they'd understand. They wouldn't tell her she couldn't be friends with Naruto. Hinata closed her eyes and hugged the chair leg, rocking against it and trying with all her heart to find her father in the cold, unforgiving wood.

The soft swoosh of the sliding door refused to let Hinata escape into her own, better world. The footsteps were too soft to be an adult, so there was only one person it could be, but she wasn't sure she wanted even Neji to comfort her.

"Hinata-chan," he broached softly, peeking beneath the chair without daring to pull it away. When she didn't answer, he tried again. "Hinata-chan, you can talk to me. I won't tell Mom anything. It's not fair what she said."

"He was my friend!" she sobbed, snuggling the chair tighter against her slender body.

Neji crawled under the chair as best he could and rested his hand over her tight, white knuckles. "Maybe he still can be," he whispered.

"But, Aunt Naomi said . . ."

"Mom can't see you at the academy," Neji reminded her, a mischievous smirk warming his face. "You can still be friends there."

Hinata sniffed her tears back and focused on her brother-cousin. "I can?"

A new hope grew with each nod of Neji's head. "Definitely. I won't tell."

* * *

The entire morning had been sour for Hinata. She'd hoped to talk to Naruto before class and apologize (a lot) for how rude Ko had been to him the day before, but not only did Ko follow her all the way to the room, he _came in_ with her. He actually watched her go to her seat and then went to talk to her teacher. By the time Ko exited Kiku was beginning class, and Hinata didn't even have the chance to go say she was sorry, let alone explain anything.

But lunch would be different. No Ko. No Hyuugas. No one to tell on her to her aunt and uncle or give her that horrible, nasty look that seemed to pass over anyone that heard she had made friends with Naruto. Not that it made any sense; no one would explain _why_ it was bad when Naruto was so nice to her. Or he _was _nice. Now, thanks to them, she couldn't even get him to return her gaze.

The moment Kiku released them to lunch Hinata grabbed her bento and hurried across the classroom to the quickly emptied seat next to Naruto. Before her fear could stop the words in her throat, before her aunt and uncle's voices of censure could send her back to her chair to eat alone, she thrust her yellow and blue wrapped bento out and lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry."

A long moment passed in silence. The remains of the knotted tie bobbed up and down as her hands shook with the unknown. Would he forgive her family? Did he still want to be her friend? Was he even looking at her now, willing to acknowledge her outstretched apology?

"What's that?" Naruto asked, breaking through her fears. His voice wasn't the same temper as the day before, there was something harder to it, something on edge, but it wasn't the same disdain Ko had embittered on him either. Hinata dared to lift one eye to gauge his expression, and she immediately wished she could read people the way the twins could. His face, it was . . . she couldn't see anything but confusion.

"Y–you said you'd never had a homemade bento before," she struggled, looking back down at her hands to avoid seeing his reaction change. "What Ko said was mean, and I don't know why they said all those things, but I'm sorry. Can we . . . I'd like to . . . I mean . . . it can only be at the academy, but . . . can we . . . still be . . . friends?"

"You still want to be friends with me?"

The hardness had disappeared from his voice, and it was the only thing that encouraged Hinata to peek up again. Confusion was still prevalent on his face, but there, clear as day in his blue eyes, was the same kind of hope she'd seen in him before. The kid who wanted a friend just as much as she did.

"It can only be at the academy or my aunt and uncle will be mad me, but I . . . I want to be friends."

"Hinata," Kiku's stern call interrupted any answer he could have given her. Hinata had been so focused on Naruto and her apology that she didn't notice their teacher coming up behind her. Kiku placed a firm hand on Hinata's shoulder and urged her to stand. "Hinata, I'm sorry, but your aunt and uncle left very specific instructions. You need to go back to your desk."

"But . . . but . . ." Hinata was on the verge of tears. They weren't supposed to be watching her at the academy.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. Back to your desk."

Hinata's whole body slumped in defeat. She set the bento box on the table and trudged up the stairs.

"Hinata," Kiku called after her, "your lunch."

"It–it's not mi–mine," she sniffed and continued to her desk.

Hinata dropped into her chair and buried her face in her arms. She wasn't crying, not in class, but it took all her strength to keep the tears in. Why were they so determined not to let her have Naruto as a friend? He wasn't mean like some of the other out-of-clan children. He even understood what it was like not to have his parents. So what was wrong with him? Why wouldn't they just tell her?

A soft tap drew Hinata from her sulking. No one was nearby, but there on her table was a small cup of instant ramen, steam puffing out from its half open paper lid. Written on the top in thick black ink and horrible penmanship was one simple word: Thanks.

Hinata looked across the room to see Naruto returning to his seat, chopsticks in hand as he dug into bento she'd left. He turned back to see her and smiled a big, rice-filled grin that no number of adults or orders to stay away could take from her. She grinned back just as brightly. They might not be able to hang out or even talk very often, but Hinata would carry that smile with her always.


	8. Unhappy Celebrations

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Hinata and Neji waited eagerly at the gate to the Hyuuga compound, their matching eyes scouring the nearby roads for the approach of their targets. At nine, Neji was technically allowed out of the compound by himself (given he told them where he was going and how long he'd be gone _and_ made sure to get home by then), but Hinata –being heir to the clan– was still restricted to escorted leave only. So when it came to whether or not to run ahead and find their intended targets, Neji decided to stay with Hinata.

"When are they going to be done?" she whined, her lithe body bouncing on the soles of her feet.

"Maybe they failed and they're too ashamed to face everyone," Neji snickered and received a playful push from his sister-cousin.

"Nuh-uh," Hinata answered childishly enough to earn an amused glance from the two Hyuuga guards stationed at the gate. "I bet they're trying to find two forehead protectors that are completely identical so people won't have an easy way to tell them apart."

Neji snorted. "They would do that."

Hinata grabbed Neji's sleeve and pointed excitedly to the two young figures sauntering around the corner and into view. Though the rest of the academy had let out nearly an hour prior, Osamu and Isamu had stayed late and now proudly brandished the rewards of their efforts across their foreheads. Two identical pieces of metal, polished until the evening sun glistened off in a rainbow of colors, bore the symbol of Konoha like a badge of honor.

Hinata looked up at the two guards with a pleading expression on her cute face until one sighed and nodded. "Go on."

"Thank you!" she called back as she and Neji bolted to meet the twins halfway down the street. The guards kept a respectful, but watchful, eye on her from their place at the gate.

"Guess who're genin now," the twin on the left said smugly.

Hinata very nearly crashed into the twin on the right, giving him a big hug before gazing admiringly at the forehead protector he wore. "Congratulations, Isamu-kun, Osamu-kun."

Osamu sighed and pulled off his forehead protector for Neji to examine. "Otouto, I think we may be found out completely. Neji-kun and Hinata-sama have gotten us right for nearly a month now. We must have a tell somewhere."

"Don't look at me," Isamu replied, squatting down enough to let Hinata trace the Konoha symbol carved into his forehead protector, "you're the oldest."

"So because I'm two minutes older I'm giving us away?" Osamu questioned sarcastically, and Isamu nodded.

"It makes you the responsible one, and that means you're responsible even if it's my fault."

Osamu smacked his brother upside the head and received a shot at the shin in return. If they both weren't laughing, it'd have been annoying.

"So, Hinata-sama," Isamu said, diverting the conversation with ease, "do you know what it means for us to be genin?"

"It means you get teams," Neji answered for her and got matching tongues stuck out at him.

"It means you won't be going to the academy anymore," Hinata answered, a little more pout in her voice than Neji had.

Isamu shook his head. "It means–"

"If Aunt Naomi keeps her word," Osamu interrupted.

"Yeah, if Aunt Naomi keeps her word, it means we can be your escorts out of the compound." Isamu's grin threatened to blind them it was so bright. "No more Ko or any one else to tell you where to go and ruin all our fun."

"Of course," Osamu huffed, puffing out his chest a little, "that's when we're not out on missions. You know, protecting the village and stuff."

"But we'll take you out to celebrate before we go on any missions and let you get a _real_ taste of the village," Isamu assured her.

"Speaking of celebrating," Osamu drawled as he ushered everyone back toward the compound gate, "Mom promised we could have a party-ish type thing if we became genin."

"Party-ish since it'll mainly be family and stuff," Isamu explained, and Osamu shoved him for interrupting.

"Right, so you both better make sure Aunt Naomi and Hizashi-sama lets you come. We'll be mad at you for at least three weeks if you miss it. It'll be tomorrow night around dinner time."

"Mom said she'd talk to Aunt Naomi, but if she forgets it's up to you two." Isamu mussed both Hinata and Neji's hair. "It won't be as fun without our favorite cousin or Hinata-sama to mess with."

Neji smoothed back his hair –he never understood why they loved to screw up his hair– but nodded to the two older boys. (He'd let it pass today since they were genin now.) "Don't worry, I'm sure Mom'll let us come."

"She better," Osamu insisted with a smile, "what's the fun of being genin if we can't brag about it to everyone in the clan."

* * *

Hinata wrinkled up her nose at her aunt, who'd insisted that she hold her hand the _entire_ way to the branch house. She was eight now and had been to the branch house before without needing to be walked the whole way. Sure, she'd never actually been into someone's _house_ before, normally her trips to the branch house were to the pond or somewhere close to it where she played or trained with Neji and the twins, but really, holding Naomi's hand? That was too childish even for Hinata. Neji didn't have to hold her hand.

It was a little strange for Hinata to be in the residential area of the branch house, though. It felt so different from the main house where everything was connected (meeting rooms, training grounds, dining halls) and a part of her home. Here it was more like in the village: individual homes next to each other with communal areas for training and a large meeting hall located near the division between the main and branch sections of the compound. She'd rarely saw the clan in their everyday lives either. She saw them plenty at the main house, as servants and messengers or meeting with her uncle, but to see them pulling clothes off the clothesline or milling about on their porches . . . that wasn't always how she pictured the clan.

Naomi pointed to a house on their left and smiled. "That's where we lived before we came to the main house."

"It looks like all the rest," Hinata commented, slightly confused. She always figured they'd had a house more like hers since Hizashi was her uncle, yet that house looked just as ordinary and average as the others they'd passed.

Naomi chuckled, but a slip of sadness betrayed her mirth. "Hinata, we're branch. We all have houses like that. Only the main family gets to live in such a big, fancy place."

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"It's just the way things are," Naomi answered in a rush. She quickly pointed to another house a couple down the road. "That's Osamu-kun and Isamu-kun's house."

"Mom, can we go ahead?" Neji asked, swinging around to give his mother a huge, unconvincingly innocent grin. Hinata followed suit. "Please."

Naomi dashed their hopes with a shake of her head. "No, I'll be walking Hinata to the door. And don't get all pouty on me, we're almost there. And don't you dare roll your eyes or I'll send you back home."

Neji stopped before his eyes went all the way back and whistled to the sky. "What? I was just looking at the clouds. They're fluffy today."

"Sure you were." Naomi raised an eyebrow at Neji, but a smile was threatening to break through.

Hinata tugged and pulled until her aunt was jogging to the house, laughing the whole time. She couldn't wait to see the twins and hear about their team and all the amazing things they'd get to do now that they were genin. (And Naomi had even agreed to keep her promise and let the twins take her out by themselves, so long as she was told whenever they left the compound.)

She was bobbing up and down as Naomi knocked on the door, but stayed half-hidden behind Naomi and Neji. As excited as she was, this was the first time she was going to be entering someone else's house and Hinata wasn't sure what to expect. It didn't help that she'd only see the twins' parents a couple times, and they'd never really talked to her as much as yelled for Osamu and Isamu to come home and do their chores.

A woman about the same age as Naomi answered the door. She was fairly pretty and Hinata recognized her immediately as the twins' mother. She looked like a female version of them, or they a male version of her. It must have been how she could so easily tell them apart. According to Osamu and Isamu, the only person who could tell them apart with 100% accuracy (so far) was their mother. Neji and Hinata were a close second, though they still messed up every once in a while.

"Naomi," the woman welcomed, a tired smile brightening her melancholy face just a little.

"Good to see you, Ren," Naomi returned and stepped up to give the woman a hug.

"You have no idea how glad I am you're here" Ren sighed. "Maybe the boys will cheer up now that Neji-kun and Hinata-sama are here."

"Cheer up?" Naomi questioned for all three as Ren moved away to let them in.

The house was comfortably furnished and there was a very casual feeling to the sitting room they entered. It reminded Hinata of the twins, put together but welcoming. The atmosphere wasn't what she was expecting though. Adults stood around talking in low whispers, some snacking from a small table of food set out for guests. It didn't feel like a party at all, especially not one the twins would throw. It felt more like the gathering after her mother's funeral.

Ren motioned to tuck her hair behind her ear, but nothing needed to be tucked. "I was afraid this was going to happen, but the boys refused to even considered it. They're on separate teams."

Hinata tried to imagine the twins _not_ being together and her head started to hurt in the attempt. Osamu and Isamu were _always_ together. For them to be separated . . . that just seemed weird.

"Neji-kun, Hinata-sama, why don't you both go in and try and cheer the boys up?" Ren suggested, waving them off to a room in the back. "They've been sulking in the dining room since they got home."

Neji grabbed her hand and led the way into the dining room with ease; he'd been to the twins' home before. There, sitting closer than they usually did, Osamu and Isamu glared at the table as if they could set it on fire with just the force of their anger. Hinata had never seen them when they weren't being playful and joking around. The sour expressions dragging down their identical faces felt wrong.

There were a couple other branch kids standing around with food and looking bored, but for once the twins ignored everyone. The life of the party had been squashed flat and now sat dejected and defeated. They looked up when Neji and Hinata entered the room, but the smile that attempted to greet them didn't make it further than a barely visible twitch of their lips.

"Hey," Neji called to them both as he ushered Hinata to the open seat next to Isamu. "So we heard you're on different teams."

"How could they do that to us?" Osamu blurt out, not really paying attention to Neji at all. "We work best together. You'd think they wouldn't want to handicap us like this."

"Is it really going to be that bad?" Hinata asked.

Isamu nodded his head. "Everything the clan likes to talk about us, being so good at reading people, it's because Aniki and I are together. What he doesn't see I do, and what I miss Aniki catches. You take one of us away and it's not the same. We're not as good."

"Even alone you're still better than most Hyuugas at reading people, you just won't be almost perfect at it anymore," Neji tried to console his cousins, but they refused to be comforted.

"We don't want to be separated," Isamu snapped.

"You don't cut off your right hand because it might be useful to someone else. That's why they're doing. They're taking half of us away."

"Oh please, you're on different teams, just deal with it already," huffed one of the other branch boys as he rolled his eyes at the twins. "Stop being such spoiled mainers."

Hinata looked to Neji for an explanation. She didn't understand what the boy meant by 'a spoiled mainer', but she recognized the voice he said it in. He said it the same way the boys who teased her at the academy used to insult her. Neji moved forward a little and straightened up to his full height, though it still made him shorter than the other boy.

"Be careful what you say," Neji warned.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you're a mainer now too, Neji-_sama_." The boy put his hands together and bowed, malice in his eyes. "Do forgive me, Neji-sama."

"I– I'm branch," Neji said, though his voice was little confused. Nearby Osamu and Isamu watched the two carefully, the anger they'd shown to the table now directed at the branch boy.

"Sure you are, Neji-sama, that's why you've been to the branch house so much these last few years." The boy's gaze flickered to the corner of his eye to sneak a peek at Hinata. "Without your little shadow, at least."

"Seriously, Nobu, we're not in the mood to listen to this crap today," Osamu scowled. He and Isamu pushed their chairs out slightly in silent warning for the boy to cease. Too bad he didn't heed it.

"Neji I get, he lives over there now, but you two are branch. Why do you tolerate the main family so much?"

"Hinata-sama is our guest," Isamu seethed, his hand fisting on the tabletop. "We invited her, so shut up about main and branch or we'll take out all our frustrations on you."

"Fine." Nobu rolled his eyes and turned away from the table back to the other branch kids who'd been observing the exchange. In a voice just loud enough to still be heard by the whole room he muttered to the others, "Have to protect the main house mouse."

Hinata didn't know what happened next, everyone moved so fast, and chakra burned so thick in the air her skin tingled. The collective glance that passed between Neji, Osmau, and Isamu was the catalyst, and the last thing Hinata was sure she saw. After that the table was in the air and two strong arms ripped her from the kitchen fray. She didn't even see the first strike.


	9. At the Adult Table

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

"Neji-kun, Hinata-sama, why don't you both go in and try and cheer the boys up?" Ren suggested, waving them off to a room in the back. "They've been sulking in the dining room since they got home."

Naomi watched the children disappear into the back of the house before turning back to her worn-down cousin. "The boys really didn't think they'd be separated?" she asked with just enough skepticism befitting knowing the twins.

Ren rolled her eyes in motherly exasperation. "They swore it wouldn't happen, that they were _far_ too valuable together. They even went to the Hokage after they were dismissed today and pitched their case why they needed to be put on the same team."

"You're kidding me," Naomi laughed as Ren led her to a small couch whose occupants had just vacated. "What did Sandaime-sama say?"

"That they could accept their teams or give up being genin because all the teams had been assigned already."

"I bet that made things _so_ much better," Naomi chuckled, not that she was surprised.

"Honestly, Naomi, I think Sandaime-sama's right. Could you imagine them on the same team? They don't need to speak to communicate with each other. Whatever poor girl that got assigned to their team would be completely isolated from them." Ren sighed and sunk deeper into the cushions. "Don't get me wrong, I love my boys dearly, but they're not 'team players'. Sure they can make _friends_ with no problem, but they've created this bubble that works for the two of them alone, and they don't really know how to work with people outside of supporting 'them' as a singular entity."

"Well, they'll learn now," Naomi joked and received the smile she'd hoped for from her cousin.

"If their teams survive the sulking," Ren returned. She sent a long, loving glance toward the dining room. "Seriously though, I really hope they can learn to separate. Maybe if they got a little more individual identity people would be able to tell them apart. I'm half afraid they'll try and switch teams just to spite them."

Naomi wanted to laugh but the humor faded when she saw the seriousness in Ren's face. A mother's worry never ended. Naomi wrapped her hand around Ren's wrist in a comforting gesture. "They'll be okay. It'll just take time for them to get used to it. And if you figure out how to make it easier, be sure to tell me. Hinata had enough trouble with Neji going to the academy; I'm dreading when he gets a team and starts leaving the village."

"Did you ever think you'd be worrying about the heir to the clan missing your son?" Ren chuckled.

"Did you ever think your sons would be inviting her over?" Naomi replied.

"Not even if I'd married Hizashi myself," Ren answered. The mirth left her face as she surveyed the morose guests standing around talking in her living room. "I did my best to thin the invites when they told me she was coming, but it doesn't look like it helped much."

Naomi followed her cousin's gaze. A stillness permeated the room that hadn't been there when they'd arrived. It had been subdued, but now the people were tense. She could see it in the strained muscles in their neck that held their posture stiff, the way their eyes narrowed when they passed the dining room, the downcast gazes and low grimaces as they spoke of something –someone– that disgusted them. The part of Naomi that was a mother, that would always see Hinata as family, bristled with a protective instinct blatant in her white eyes, but that was as far as it reached. She couldn't condemn them for the very things she'd done only five years earlier. The clan wasn't going to change simply because she had.

Naomi sighed and took a moment to tuck away any lingering agitation. "It's all right, Ren. If you refused to invite anyone with a grievance against the main family no one would've come."

It was Ren's turn to offer a comforting hand. "It's still amazes me how much my boys adore her, though. It's the branch's duty to protect the main family, but those two would protect her in a heartbeat. The rest of the main family, I don't know, but to Hinata-sama there's not even the thought of ill will."

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual for Hinata. She loves Osamu and Isamu. If it weren't for Neji and them I'm not sure how well she would have handled these last five years. And we're trying to keep her from hearing too much of the troubles between the houses, yet."

Ren let out a quick, snide snort. "Good luck with that."

"We know we can't hide everything," Naomi amended, sliding a half-hearted glare at her cousin, "but we don't want it to be something she grows up thinking is normal. Hizashi once said change the way the head sees the clan and you change the way the clan sees itself. We want Hinata to have a good connection to the branch family. Maybe then things in the clan might change for the better."

Ren's eyes flashed towards the dining room but quickly snapped down to hide the pain in her memories. "The clan may not be able to change anymore."

"I used to think that, then I started raising her." A slight smile softened Naomi's face.

Ren kept her gaze away, looking beyond Naomi so as to avoid meeting her eyes. "Even if you see it, the clan doesn't. Do you know what they're calling her now?"

The smile drew back into a thin, even expression that betrayed none of the dread Naomi felt. "Do I want to know?"

"Main house mouse."

"Oh please," Naomi groaned and sunk as deeply into the couch as the soft cushions allowed. "As if she doesn't get berated enough by Hyobe-sama for being timid."

"Where do you think we're hearing this from?" Ren asked. "You know how these things get around. Those working in the main house are watching how Hyobe-sama and the others in the council react to her. They're how most over here are gauging her ability to lead by."

"She's eight-years-old. Who's ready to lead an entire clan at eight? If they'd only give her enough time, she's improving. Slowly, but she _is_ improving." Now Naomi was the one avoiding Ren's gaze. "I just hope she doesn't hear that. Her self-esteem is tentative enough some days."

"If you're that worried about her hearing that, you better be careful she doesn't hear what else some of the clan's saying."

Naomi rubbed her temple. She didn't used to have to hear all the gossip after it'd been circulating around the branch family, but living in the main house had cut her off from most of the people willing to backtalk the main family. That and most knew by now she wouldn't tolerate insults against her niece. "What else?"

Ren moved closer, not too much to draw attention, but intimately enough to keep _anyone_ from overhearing. "A few have been taking note of Neji. How much more skilled his is than Hinata-sama. More skilled than he should be for his age. I've heard several people say the wrong child is heir. The fact you're living over there and he's technically only one generation out of the main family . . . well, that kind of talk is getting stronger."

Naomi pinched the bridge of her and closed her eyes to hide any emotion that dared to show itself on her face. The last thing she wanted to hear was that people were comparing Hinata and Neji. It was impossible for Neji to become main family. Even if, heaven forbid, something should happen to Hinata, Neji, like Hizashi, was already sealed and only an unsealed descendant of the main family could fully take control. At most Hizashi could remain regent until Neji's first born was able to take over. So even entertaining the idea would do nothing to make it possible, but it could do immense damage.

Hizashi and Naomi's worst fear was that history would repeat itself, and if there was something capable of wedging bitterness between Neji and Hinata, constant demeaning comparisons would be it. She was eight; she still had ten years before she was expected to take over. But how many years would it take of hearing she's unworthy, that she shouldn't be heir before she comes to resent Neji? How much longer before she learned to read it in the clan's faces and Naomi and Hizashi wouldn't be able to hide it? As much as Naomi wanted to believe that Hinata's softhearted nature would keep her from engendering hate to a boy she called 'brother,' that same nature made her so very susceptible to outside criticism.

Naomi took a deep breath and focused on the sensation of the cool air swirling in the back of her mouth and coating her tongue. If there was one thing a Hyuuga learned how to do it was hide their true emotions when they needed to (or else there'd be no privacy in the compound). Naomi turned back to her cousin, her eyes asking for an honest answer no matter what it was. "And what do you think of Hinata?"

"I wasn't sure at first," Ren admitted, "especially when Osamu and Isamu began playing with her. It frightened me to think they were so close to the main family. But if there's one thing I trust my boys to do it's be able to see through a person. And since they have faith in Hinata-sama, for now I will too."

"For now?" Naomi repeated.

"Until I'm proven wrong." Ren's voice was light, but the slight turn of her lips told Naomi the unsaid meaning. Until Hinata betrayed the twins' faith in her. Until she became the same as the rest of the main family.

"We can hop–"

The sharp crack of wood splitting snapped both women to their feet and sent them running to the dining room before the table, which had been tossed against the far wall, returned to the ground in pieces. The brancher nearest the dining room held a befuddled Hinata in his arms and quickly backed away from the fight threatening to destroy Ren's entire dining set and overflow into the kitchen.

Naomi wasn't even sure who was fighting whom, but Neji, Osamu, Isamu, and at least four other branch children were trying the hardest to beat the crap out of each other. It wasn't the surprise of the fray that struck Naomi most, but the hatred burning low and cold in her son's eyes. She'd never seen hatred like that in her child before, and since moving to the main family, she'd hoped she never would.

One of the boys fell to the ground and Naomi took the chance to break into the center of the fight. In one fast burst she expelled chakra from her entire body, knocking all of the remaining boys back.

"Enough!" she screamed before anyone could right himself to attack again. Her pale eyes leveled on each boy in turn with slow, frozen fury and each took a step back in response to her unspoken command.

"What the hell happened?" Ren demanded, her anger content to remain solely on her own sons and the dinner table now scattered in four pieces on the ground.

"We told him to shut up," Osamu seethed, his hands shaking at his sides.

"So you destroy our house because they were smart-mouthing you," Ren snapped back.

Isamu edged forward, not a full step –the warning glance from Naomi was enough to hold him in place– but enough to make Nobu, who was holding his arm protectively, to shirk back. "Why don't you tell them what you said? I bet Aunt Naomi would _love_ to hear what you think of Hinata-sama."

Nobu looked at the ground to avoid Naomi's sudden attention, but his face remained in the same tight, angry grimace as the others.

"That's enough," Naomi interrupted before anyone else could speak. If this was main versus branch she needed to stop it as quickly as possible. She pointed to the branch children. "You four, go home now, and if one of you speaks another word before you walk into your houses I _will_ know. Go."

The four boys slunk past Naomi and Ren with downcast eyes and loathing simmering in every forced step. The next generation of hate growing by the day. Whenever she saw that it made her wonder if Ren wasn't right. Was the clan even able to change if they raised their children to resent each other?

Naomi settled her gaze on Neji, who looked as ready to jump back into a fight as the twins did. "Ren, I'll come by tomorrow to sort everything out. For now I'm taking Neji and Hinata home and leaving the twins to you."

"Don't worry, Naomi, I'll take care of my boys," Ren replied and the twins took an instinctual step closer to each other.

"Neji," Naomi snapped, breathing in long and slow so her son knew he better be moving before she exhaled. He was. Naomi took Hinata's hand as they passed the brancher watching over her and escorted the two children home. Hinata looked up at Naomi with a questioning expression but remained silent.

"Mom–"

"Not until we get home," Naomi interrupted Neji. "You'll be explaining this to your father, too."

He scowled at the ground. "It was their fault."

"Not another word."

Naomi had a suspicion their efforts to shield Hinata from much of the clan problems just flew out the window. She didn't know what could produce such hate in her son, but for any Hyuuga it could only be one thing. But what happened? And which side was he on? Until Hinata was safely away she didn't want Neji saying too much.

They walked in silence until the moment the door slid closed behind them. Naomi gently pushed Hinata forward. "Hinata, go tell Uncle Hizashi to meet us in the sitting room, and then I want you to go to your study and wait for me. All right?"

"Yes, Aunt Naomi," she murmured in a barely audible voice and hurried off.

Naomi warned Neji before he even got his mouth half open, "Not – one – word until your father gets here,"

Neji, arms crossed, stomped his way across the formal sitting room and plopped down on one of the cushions left out for any waiting guests. Naomi kept a reproachful watch on him from her place at the door while she waited. Normally she could read her son quite well, but his anger overwhelmed any other traces of explanation in his expression and mannerisms.

The soft tread of footsteps across the wood floor drew her attention to Hizashi hurrying toward her, his face strained in confusion. He took one long scan of her countenance and matched it before turning the corner to glower disapprovingly at their son. He walked silently and, with careful, measured intent, slowly picked up one of the other cushions to set down opposite Neji. Naomi followed his example, moving with implicit thought and direction until she knelt beside her husband. Four white eyes stared down Neji in silent condemnation. Another day she would have been proud of how steady he held his ground against them. That was not the case today.

"So what exactly happened?" Hizashi asked with the quiet calm that heralded a storm.

"They deserved it," Neji answered, trying his best to mirror his father's calm, though his hands remained fisted across his chest.

"Whether or not they did, you nearly destroyed Ren's dining room in that fight. And what if Hinata had been hurt?" Naomi chided in order to inform her husband what exactly he was to be upset about. Beside her, Hizashi's brow rose infinitesimally.

"We wouldn't have let anything happen to her," Neji muttered, his confidence faltering slightly. "But it's still their fault. Osamu and Isamu warned them to shut up and then he . . ." The hatred Naomi'd seen earlier returned to her son's face, and she noted Hizashi's surprise at seeing it.

"Start from the beginning," Hizashi instructed. "What happened?"

Neji huffed out his frustration and resigned himself. "Nobu said the twins were acting like spoiled mainers, and Hinata-chan was right there so we told him to shut up, but he kept going on about branch and main family anyway. So the twins told him to shut up about it since they invited Hinata-chan and it didn't matter. But then he called Hinata-chan . . ." Neji's lips thinned and he stared at the ground between them as if he could burn the wood planks from sheer intensity. "He called Hinata-chan main house mouse, right in front of her. We couldn't just let him say that and do nothing."

Hizashi glanced at Naomi before Neji raised his head to see, and she answered with an affirmative, 'I'll explain later' nod. Hizashi waited for Neji to settle himself again, which took less time than Naomi expected; he'd never tried so hard to act mature in front of them before.

"Neji," Hizashi started, picking his words carefully, "what do you understand about the problems between the houses?"

Neji hesitated, and Naomi could see the confusion in his eyes. They'd mentioned aspects to him, things he couldn't get away from understanding being branch, but they'd moved to the main house before he was old enough to understand it all. They'd never had a proper, serious conversation about the reasons for all the bitterness between the houses with either of the children.

"Well, the branch house doesn't like it that they have to have the seal," Neji explained as best he could, "and that only the main family gets to learn all the powerful techniques."

"And that the branch is bound by clan law to protect the main family," Hizashi added. "There are generations of resentment growing between the houses because of those reasons. You can't fight everyone in the branch family who insults the main family or you'll be fighting the entire clan."

"But he did it in front of her, can't I fight then?" Neji muttered, clearly unhappy at their explanation.

"Neji, you can't be her shield forever," Naomi warned. "She has to learn to handle what the clan is going to say, how they're going to see her. If you, or even we, fight her battles for her, she'll remain the main house mouse in their eyes. Someone unfit to lead. And if they see her as weak, they'll fear her as their leader."

"But she'll have Dad and you to help her until she learns," Neji insisted.

Hizashi shook his head and waited until Neji's whole focus returned to him. "Neji, that's not why they'll fear her. They'll fear that a leader who can't command will keep control through the seal. Whether you like it or not, you need to accept the fact that Hinata not only has the power but the _right_ to inflict pain on any member of the branch family she sees fit. Your grandfather hasn't taught her the technique yet, but the threat's there for the branch family."

"And we _are_ branch family, Neji." Naomi closed her eyes and took a moment to clear the regret from her face. Lately, she had to remind herself of that as well.

"But I know Hinata-chan, she wouldn't . . ."

Hizashi shook his head. "One day she may. With her disposition she probably won't enjoy it, but one day she very well may use it. Even on you."

"Hinata-chan wouldn't–"

"Neji–"

"Hinata wouldn't!" Neji snapped. "I know I'm not supposed to call her it because I'm branch, but she's my sister. She wouldn't do that."

Hizashi raised a hand to silence his son, his reproaching eyes fading into something more melancholic. It wasn't the expression Naomi expected to see. The bitter resentment was gone.

"Hiashi was my twin. I was sealed early to ensure there was no question of heir, but I was still raised here with my brother. That didn't stop him from using the seal on me."

Naomi looked away, her son mirroring her actions. She had only been told of that ill-fated occasion; Neji had witnessed it. But even in only hearing, the thought of Hizashi being subject to the pain of the seal was difficult to bear. Hizashi reached over and rested a gentle hand on her arm. The tender action was enough to quell the foul atmosphere that mentioning the seal had created.

"Neji," he began again, "we're not saying this to turn you against her. We don't want you and Hinata to end up like me and Hiashi, but you need to realize there _is_ a difference between you being branch and Hinata being main. One day you both are going to have to accept what that means. More importantly, you need to understand that you can't beat change into the clan. Only Hinata can begin to produce any change, but not if they don't trust her. She has to learn to bear their criticism and stand on her own."

Neji avoided his parents' eyes and fisted his hands against the ground – open and closed, open and closed. That he was so passionate to protect Hinata was more than they'd ever hoped for, but it also meant if history repeated itself the betrayal would be so much worse.

But Naomi wasn't ready to believe they'd made so many mistakes yet. The proof of it was before her in the form of their frustrated, angry son unwilling to believe his sister could ever willfully cause him pain. What they would be as adults was uncertain, but that they held such loyalty now was a good portend of the future. It brought a soft, quiet smile to her lips.

"Neji," she began tenderly, "if you want to help Hinata with the clan, instead of fighting others, support her. Don't be a shield or a sword for her, but be the person she can go to when she can take no more. Be the one she can show her weakness to without fear and scorn. That's what _she's_ going to need. Can you be that for her?"

Neji finally looked straight into his mother's eyes and nodded.

"We're pleased to hear that, Neji," Hizashi spoke with a finality that told his son there would be no more debating, "but you'll still be punished for the fight, regardless of your intensions. You're mother and I will discuss it tonight, for now, go get cleaned up."

"Yes, Dad." With a short bow before standing up, Neji left the room.

Hizashi turned to Naomi properly for the first time since he saw her in the hallway. "Main house mouse?"

"That's hardly the worst of it," she answered, relaxing into a slump now that she didn't have a son to discipline. "According to Ren, they've begun comparing Neji and Hinata's skill level. Some are saying the wrong child is heir."

Hizashi pinched the bridge of his nose and took several deep breaths to process the news. "We've almost got her equal to her age level, but it'll look like nothing if they're comparing her to Neji. He has an exceptional ability to learn and understand jyuuken. It's ridiculous to compare him to anyone close to his age."

"_I_ know that, but the fact is they _are_ comparing him to her, and we need to be prepared for that." Naomi adjusted her kimono and stood up so that her husband was forced to look up at her. "We need to explain what's happening to Hinata. I don't want this to be the wedge that pushes her and Neji apart."

"Exactly how much do you think we should explain?" he asked as he stood up to join her.

"I don't think we have the luxury to hide anything anymore, not if this is what the clan's saying."

Hizashi leaned in and placed his cheek against hers. It was only for a moment but the unspoken comfort was more soothing than any words he could have said. It was enough to steady her for the next conversation.

They headed for Hinata's study. After her parents' deaths, Hinata had turned Hiashi's office into part playroom, part shrine to Hiashi and Atsuko. Since entering the academy, the room had become more of a study, where she'd do her homework or read the gardening or medical books she'd recovered after Atsuko's death. Hinata hadn't been able to read them when Atsuko had died, but she'd kept them in the room until she could.

The shoji door was closed when they came to it, so Hizashi rapped a light warning on the wood frame before opening it. Hinata sat in her father's chair looking like a doll placed against the back to wait for the child's return. In her lap was one of her mother's books, though by the way her hand slowly stroked the page Naomi doubted Hinata was actually reading it.

"Hinata," Hizashi called, giving her time to set the book on the desk as he retrieved the visitor's chair from the corner for Naomi to sit in. "Hinata, we need to talk to you about what happened and why Nobu said what he did."

Hinata curled her leg up and hugged her knees to her chest. It was instinctual, Naomi knew, but that kind of defensive distancing was exactly what encouraged people to see her as meek. For now Naomi let Hizashi control the conversation; she didn't want Hinata to feel they were ganging up on her.

"Do you understand why Nobu said what he did?"

Hinata rested her cheek against her knees to avoid looking at them. "Because some people are just jerks and you can't do anything about it."

Hizashi chuckled. "While that's true, that's not why Nobu said that. For him there was a reason."

"Why?" she asked, sparing a quick glance at them both before turning her head the other way.

"Because not everyone in the branch family likes the main family." Hizashi placed a hand on Naomi's shoulder, but she knew the action was more for him than her. "In fact, most of the branch family is unhappy with the main family. It's not your fault, Hinata. These problems have been festering in the clan for generations."

Naomi saw Hinata's arms tighten around her legs. "Why doesn't the branch family like the main family?"

"For many reasons. A long time ago, the main family put restrictions on the branch family, restrictions many find unfair. Like how when I came over to live here, Grandpa had to teach me certain techniques so that I'd be able to teach you when you're older. I had to learn them then because members of the branch family aren't allowed to learn those techniques, no matter how skilled they are. Only main family is allowed to use them."

"Why?"

Hizashi sighed. "I don't know. Someone long ago decided it, and it's made many people angry. But that's not the only reason. Hinata, come here."

Hizashi waved Hinata out from behind the desk and knelt down before her so their faces were nearly level. Very deliberately, he untied the knot holding the black scarf over his forehead and revealed the green markings of the seal. Despite having one herself, Naomi found herself struggling to look directly at it without the heat of anger and bitterness seeping into her face. Hinata, on the other hand, stared at the seal with innocent wonder. It was rare for her to see it uncovered on anyone.

"Hinata, do you understand what this is?" He took her hand in his and let her fingers trace the design marring his forehead.

"It's the seal that protects byakugan if a Hyuuga dies."

Hizashi remained still as she explored the seal, doing better than Naomi in controlling what emotions he showed. "Do you know what else it does?"

Hinata lowered her hands at the tone of Hizashi's voice and shook her head. Hizashi reclaimed her hands in his own and held them securely. Naomi was amazed he was able to remain so calm with her, knowing the pain the seal inflicted.

"The seal is a way for the main family to control the branch family. It can cause great pain. Do you remember a day when your father was still alive, and I came to see you train? Do you remember I screamed out and fell to the floor?"

Hinata scrunched her face up as she thought back, but eventually she nodded.

"I screamed and fell because your father had used the seal to hurt me," he explained. "I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"Bu–but, why'd Father want to hurt you?" she stuttered, her eyes wide in horror.

Hizashi pulled her closer and wrapped one arm around her so she couldn't run away from him. "Because before I moved over here to take care of you, I was one of the people who blamed the main family for restricting us. I was jealous of the main family's freedom, and your father used the seal to remind me of my place."

"Father wouldn't . . . he . . . you're . . ." Tears threatened to overflow Hinata's white eyes as she fumbled to get her thoughts out. Naomi hadn't wanted to destroy Hinata's fairytale image of her father, but they didn't have a choice if they were going to make her understand.

"Hinata," Hizashi called to refocus her, "we were brothers, but the main family often looks down on the branch. I knew when Grandpa or the council looked at us that my life was less worthy than your father's. Seeing that for so many years grew bitterness between us. By the time we'd grown up, we weren't close anymore and sometimes it was hard to be together."

What restraint Hinata'd held onto to keep the tears from falling vanished under the flood of emotions attacking her fair face. Fear, confusion, disbelief, if one was more powerful than the other Naomi's trained eye couldn't see it. Hizashi cradled the frightened girl against him and let her cry out her fears. She took the clan problems so differently from Neji. How was she ever going to stand up to the branch family's criticism if she folded so easily to their hatred?

From within the muffled, sob-broken cries Naomi heard bits of her niece's voice break through. "Ne– . . . Neji and . . . hate me . . ."

Hizashi pushed her back so that she could see him and wiped her cheeks clean. "Neji loves you and so do we. We don't want what happened to me and your father to happen to you and Neji, that's why we're explaining this to you. It's going to be much harder to avoid hearing what the clan thinks. The fact is, Neji is much more skilled than you, and I'm afraid even though you've improved so much over the years, the clan is going to see you as weak compared to him. I know how hard it is to hear you're worth less than your brother, and if you don't want to lose what you and Neji have, you have to become strong enough to face those voices."

"But . . . I'm not . . . strong," Hinata wept.

"There are many kinds of strength, Hinata," Naomi said, reaching out to take one of Hinata's hands from Hizashi. "Neji is physically strong and he's strong in jyuuken. The twins are strong in reading people. Uncle Hizashi is a strong leader, just as your father was. But you inherited a very special strength from your mother, one that will make you an even greater leader than Uncle Hizashi or your father if you let it."

"I did?" she sniffed.

Naomi stroked back Hinata's hair with her free hand in motherly affection. "You did. You have a wonderfully strong heart, just like your mother. You care so much what people think, you want to make them happy, and you don't want there to be conflict. Those are great traits to have. This clan needs a leader who won't accept the problems between the houses as merely what the clan is. It needs someone who'll listen to them, accept them, and who _wants_ to make things better. You don't want the clan to keep hurting the way it does, do you?"

Hinata shook her head furiously, which brought a small smile to Naomi's lips. "I didn't think you did, and I know you're strong enough in your own way to make this clan better. But just like you have to train your body to be able to withstand battle, you have to strengthen your heart too, because some of the things you're going to hear will hurt you. So you need to become strong enough to listen to those hurtful words and not hide from them, to know that _that_ is what you'll change one day."

"Do you . . . do you really think I can be strong enough?" she asked. The crying had stopped, but her voice was still so very frail it surprised Naomi she heard it at all.

Hizashi stole back the hand Naomi had claimed and pulled Hinata so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. "Sometimes, Hinata, it's not a matter of can you. For you it's a matter of you must be. You must be strong if you don't want the clan's bitterness to become yours, and it's not enough to simply endure on your own. You must make the clan believe it too, because if they don't believe you're strong, you'll never change them."

Hinata curled into Hizashi's embrace, calmed but still unsure. The frown on her pretty face was enough to make Naomi's heart ache. "Will you . . . will you stay with me even if everyone else hates me?"

"Of course we will," Naomi assured her. "As long as you need us we'll be here for you. But we know you can do great things for this clan, if only you start to believe it."

She buried her face into Hizashi's shoulder and held on with all her might. "I–I'll try."


	10. An Interrupted Night

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

A sharp, rattling knock woke Hizashi from a rather restful sleep, which immediately settled a deep glower onto his face. It wasn't all too often that Hizashi honestly felt rested in the morning, but as rude as he awakened and as pleasant as the idea of returning to sleep felt, he was certain he might have achieved it that night. Through the window Hizashi could make out the fading darkness, not yet sunrise but no longer night. It was the perfect hour when the sky was warmed only by the portend of the coming sun.

A voice drew his focus back to the interrupting door. "Hizashi-sama, there's an urgent message from the Hokage."

"The Hokage, at this hour?" Naomi questioned beside him, as suddenly alert as he was.

"Come in," he called and quickly stood to greet the messenger. The head of the Hyuuga clan did not greet unwelcome news in bed. And any news that came before sunrise was most definitely going to be unwelcome.

A servant opened the door and the messenger entered, bowing fast enough to let Hizashi know he was in haste. "Forgive me for waking you, Hyuuga-sama, but there's an emergency in the village. Sandaime-sama's asking for you to meet him at his office and for as many jounin and high chuunin level Hyuugas as possible to be prepared."

"Prepared for what? What's happened?" Prepared was not a word Hizashi had wanted to hear before dawn.

"I don't know all the details, but," the messenger paled a little and looked to the ground, "the Uchiha clan was massacred."

"The entire clan?" Naomi gasped. "No survivors?"

"I'm not certain, but from what I've heard . . ." he nodded, unable to speak the ghastly truth.

Hizashi took a deep breath and calmed himself. "We understand. I'll head out as soon as arrangements have been made here."

The messenger bowed again before darting past the wide-eyed servant still waiting in the hall. Hizashi wasted no time in calling out to the servant while he retrieved a change of clothes. "Wake everyone in the house. I want a list of every Hyuuga not out on missions, and call my father here immediately. And make sure someone's watching over the children. I don't want them left alone."

"Yes, Hizashi-sama," the young woman replied and closed the door.

"The _entire_ Uchiha clan?" Naomi repeated, slipping out from the covers and hurrying to get dressed as well. "How could that many people powerful enough to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan get into the village unnoticed?"

"I'm sure Sandaime-sama's wondering that as well." Hizashi slipped on his old uniform and nearly upturned a normally ignored trunk in search of his vest. Usually meeting with the Hokage meant formal attire, but he was not about to be in a kimono if there was the possibility of going into battle. It'd been years since he'd worn his shinobi uniform, yet it felt as natural still as if he'd taken it off only yesterday. It was almost comforting once his forehead protector was on. He'd always imagined Konoha's symbol brandished over the seal somehow made him more than just branch, more than merely Hyuuga.

"Do you think this could be the start of another war?" Naomi asked as she pulled her shirt over her head. Like him, she chose more practical attire, though she wouldn't be leaving the compound. Someone was going to have to manage things on this end, at least until they knew exactly what had happened.

"If another village did this, I can't think of any other outcome. The Hokage can't ignore the slaughter of an entire clan."

"How could it be anything but another village?" Naomi continued, the dread obvious in her pale eyes. "I'm sure the Raikage would love to get his hands on the sharingan as much as byakugan."

"But why kill the entire clan?" Hizashi shook his head. It simply didn't make sense.

"It's surreal. The Uchiha – if a clan like that could be slaughtered . . ."

"That's why I'm not willing to leave the compound unprotected," Hizashi stated and waited for her to follow him out. "Until we know what's happening no one gets in or out of the compound without express permission. I'm leaving that to you, Naomi. Make sure everyone knows to stay inside and alert."

They turned down the hall to see Hyobe rushing towards them still in his night robe. A calm that could only be attributed to being the clan head during times of war kept his face virtually unreadable. He turned in perfect step to join them as they headed for the front door.

"Is it true?" he asked. "The entire Uchiha clan was killed?"

Hizashi nodded. "That's what the messenger said. I've been summoned to the Hokage, so hopefully he already knows the details."

"Then it's war again," Hyobe whispered. All three exchanged a look that both wished it weren't true but resigned themselves it was. None said another word of war.

Hizashi stopped at the front porch and slipped on his sandals as he spoke. "Father, I'm leaving you and Naomi to prepare the clan. Hokage-sama asked for as many jounin and high-level chuunin as possible to be ready; I've already sent for a full list of those not on missions right now. I want the rest of the clan on watch, and every shinobi not being prepared for the Hokage is to be standing guard around the compound in case whoever attacked the Uchiha aren't done yet. And Father, once everything's in place I want you with Hinata and Neji. I've got someone watching them now, but–"

"I understand," Hyobe finished for him. If this was more than simply the Uchiha, someone who knew main family techniques needed to be with the heir. Hizashi squashed the sick sentiment that if the branch were allowed to learn them, Hinata would be better protected. He didn't have time for clan squabbling at the moment.

Hizashi offered a nod to his father and, ignoring decorum, kissed Naomi goodbye before dashing out across the compound. Already the clan was waking into a frenzy. Members of the branch family sprinted towards the main house, many quickening their pace after taking note of Hizashi's appearance. When the clan head (even an acting one) was ready for battle, everyone had to be. He stopped by the gates only long enough to warn those on duty to keep everyone from leaving until he or the Hokage sent word otherwise.

The village was oddly quiet for the news he'd just heard. Except for the flickering presences he sensed rushing silently to or from the Hokage's office, no one was awake yet to learn the horrifying news. But then if this was only the Uchiha clan there was no reason they should. The Uchihas lived in a far corner of the village, an attack there could be done with quick precision if well-planned and fast-moving. Still, to know enemies were in the village long enough to massacre a clan – Hizashi sped up.

Around the Hokage's office was like night and day to the quiet tranquillity of the sleeping village. The messengers he'd sensed earlier collected at various checkpoints before sprinting off on another mission. A couple Inuzukas and their dogs stood outside the building in serious planning with a team of ANBU. Not too far away the same was being done by a group of Aburames. While all the activity made sense, something felt very off with what he saw. Aside from the ANBU, where were the rest of the powerful families? Why weren't all the jounins preparing for war? The Hokage had requested all the Hyuuga's jounin and high-level chunnin, so where was the rest of the village?

An obviously harried aid met Hizashi shortly after he entered and ushered him directly to the Hokage's office. Nara Shikaku leaned over the Hokage's desk in hushed discussion of the map between them, his deer-skin vest tossed haphazardly over the corner of the desk. Both men remained drawn and any grief they bore to the night's events had long since been buried beneath necessity. Sandaime's whole body looked tired and heavy though, the only outward sign of the responsibility he bore to the village.

Sandaime looked up from their debate when he heard Hizashi approach, and Hizashi offered both men a respectful bow to the interruption. "Hizashi, it's unfortunate I have to call on you tonight, but I'm glad you're here. We're going need the Hyuugas help."

"It's true, then? The entire Uchiha clan was killed?" Hizashi asked. He could see the map on the desk the closer he got. It displayed the lands surrounding Konoha and deployment markings already covered the southwest and western forests.

"Almost," Sandaime sighed. "Only one survivor, I'm afraid, Fugaku's younger son, Sasuke. Eight years old only. It seems the poor boy walked in at the end of the attack."

Hizashi quelled the image that flashed through his mind of Neji or Hinata entering the compound to find everyone dead. What that would do to a child their age he didn't want to think about. He didn't have time to think about it. Hizashi looked between Shikaku and the Hokage for further explanation. "Did he see what village the attackers were from?"

Sandaime bowed his head and stared at the map in front of him until Hizashi could see nothing of his face beyond the brim of his red and white Hokage hat. "Unfortunately he did. The attacker was from Konoha."

"Konoha?" Hizashi repeated. The very word was unbelievable. "Wait, attacker? One person from Konoha slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan? Who?"

"Fugaku's older son, Itachi," Shikaku answered. "The boy said Itachi confessed everything to him before knocking him out and presumably leaving the village. That was late last night."

An Uchiha slaughtered his own clan? The story got more fantastic the more he learned of it. Hizashi'd been prepared for an unavoidable retaliation against another village and the idea of war on the horizon, but this? He wasn't sure whether he should be horrified or relieved.

Whatever reservations Sandaime had to the knowledge it was one of their own that committed such grievous crimes was invisible on his face when he raised his head again. "That's why we need the Hyuugas help. This isn't preparation for war, it's a manhunt. We need every tracker capable of handling themselves in battle against this class of rogue ninja to be out there searching for him. At his level, if we don't capture him immediately, there's no telling how long it will take to find him."

"Of course," Hizashi answered, shaking out any remaining shock. They had a job to do now, and whether it was right or not, he was glad it wasn't for war. "Are you certain he ran, though? Is there any chance he intends to attack further than the Uchiha clan?" Hizashi was responsible for his clan; if there was the possibility Itachi would attack the village, he didn't want to leave the compound so unprotected.

"I suspect if he were after more we'd have seen it already," Sandaime answered. "I've already had people out to the scene and every thing we can find show he's left the village. Of course, until we're certain he's not working with someone else we won't be leaving Konoha unprotected."

"I understand," Hizashi said.

Sandaime continued, "One more thing, Hizashi. I know your position in your clan, but I'm requesting you join the hunt. If Itachi truly is as powerful as we think he must be to do this to the Uchihas–"

"Then main family techniques may be very useful," Hizashi finished for him. "Don't worry, Hokage-sama, I may be acting as the head of the clan, but the Hyuugas are a part of Konoha, and when the village is threatened all of us are at your disposal."

A weary grin tempted Sandaime's lips but never fully formed. "Let's hope then that you're not needed to this extent for a long time to come."

Hizashi nodded. He'd prefer if it didn't happen until after he was long dead, but given the shinobi world he knew better than to expect that. If it waited until Hinata was older than him though, he'd take that as a blessing.

Sandaime and Shikaku showed Hizashi all the checkpoints to send the Hyuugas to for team assignments. No one was moving alone against Itachi, and all teams had at least one ANBU member. Most Hyuugas were being sent northwest and west of the village, with a few being requested to supplement the teams already searching in the southwest areas. They'd been able to track Itachi only so far before losing a definite trail, most of which had been hours old by the time they started searching. By all accounts, according to Shikaku, he was heading westward, but they were fanning out since there was no telling if he'd turned north or southward in his escape. Once explained, Hizashi bowed to Sandaime and ran through the still sleeping village back to the Hyuuga compound, which was alive and moving with activity.

Most of the clan had collected at the meeting hall between the branch and main houses since it was one of the largest single-room buildings in the compound. Hyobe remained at the head of the room directing everyone into small groups. He was separating them out by rank and skill set, Hizashi noticed. All eyes locked on Hizashi as he walked through the groups to his father.

"This is everyone?" Hizashi asked.

Hyobe nodded. "The rest of the chunnin are already stationed around the perimeter wall, and Naomi's directing the genin to the training halls where she's gathered the remainder of the clan."

"Good, though things aren't quite what we thought they were."

"What did the Hokage say?" Hyobe asked, dreaded curiosity settling in his old face.

Suddenly Hizashi understood the weight of the revelation he'd seen in Sandaime's aged body. How did you tell everyone it was one of your own that murdered his family? Taking a short step back, Hizashi waved everyone in the meeting hall to quiet. For a moment he saw the desperate desire of every white eye staring at him, begging him to say the very thing he could, "Konoha is not at war."

Relief swept like a crashing wave across the room. A few even took each other's hands and laughed in a giddy reprieve of good news. Hizashi allowed them the moment before continuing, "What we were told, though, is true. The Uchiha clan was slaughtered last night, with only one child as a survivor."

Dozens of uncertain faces turned to one another for some understanding of what they were hearing. Hyobe voiced the question they all were thinking, "How can we not be at war then? Who did it?"

Hizashi took a moment to brace himself. How would the clan react to the news an Uchiha had killed his own clan? It took another moment to smother the thought that attempted to pass next, one he knew he could never allow the clan to read on him. Would any of them find such an act, successfully done, an appealing solution to clan problems? Hizashi didn't want to believe it was possible, but the Uchihas had far more solidarity than the long divided Hyuugas.

"The criminal is Uchiha Itachi," Hizashi announced to the silent audience. "As far as it can be found, he alone killed his clan. We're not at war, but the Hokage has given us the mission to help find Uchiha Itachi before he escapes permanently."

Hizashi carefully scanned the faces before him for every inflection, every tiny facet that would give away the thoughts rumbling beneath the surface. There was shock, of course, mixed with bewilderment and uncertainty. And then he saw it, rolling low in their gazes, passing from one to another like an unstoppable virus. Fury. Hot, boiling, righteous fury. Cousins, siblings, parents and children, they each looked at one another and for a moment imagined one of their own taking them away. They were clansmen. No matter the problems and the division and the bitterness, they were still clansmen. Still family. Hizashi never felt so proud to lead them.

"We'll be splitting up between four different checkpoints where we'll be assigned to help lead teams in the search," Hizashi explained. "Everyone needs to be careful, never leave your team. Uchiha Itachi is officially considered a rogue and extremely dangerous."

"We'll?" Hyobe questioned quietly.

"Yes, at the Hokage's request I'll be joining the search parties," Hizashi answered without hesitation or option of rebuttal. "He doesn't believe that there's a threat to Konoha, but he's not sending everyone out just in case. I'll leave the compound to you, Father."

Hyobe didn't appear convinced. "And what if something happens to you, Hizashi?"

"You're not to send Naomi back to the branch house. Hinata'll need Naomi and Neji still." The seriousness in his voice forced Hyobe's eyes to narrow, and Hizashi had to resist the urge to smirk. "This is the Hokage's request and for the safety of the village. Everyone capable needs to be out there searching before the threat gets away. Besides, I'm only going to be one of countless searchers out there. Even if I don't find him, that's one more area that can be searched by someone else."

"Just be careful." Hyobe looked to the entire room of Hyuuga men and women. "Everyone be careful and find the bastard who killed his own."

There were times when you honestly saw a person's true colors: in desperation, in death, and in tragedy. In that moment the Hyuuga showed their true selves, and if Hizashi ever doubted again that his clan could reconcile one day he would be a fool. When called upon or threatened, main and branch disappeared from their minds and for that short while they were only Hyuuga. A single, unanimous cry without division.

Once the room quieted again, Hizashi issued his orders with quick precision, and the trained shinobi flushed from the meeting hall like fire under their feet. They _would_ find Uchiha Itachi. Hizashi motioned for his father to follow as he hurried back to the main house.

"Until we get back I want you to keep the guards on watch just to be safe," Hizashi ordered. "I trust Sandaime-sama's judgment, but it doesn't hurt to be vigilant. Where are the children? I want to see them before I leave."

"I thought you weren't worried," Hyobe answered, his leader's calm betraying none of his intended meaning behind his reply.

"I'd still like to reassure them myself," Hizashi remarked. "Besides, Hinata needs to understand why I'm doing this, so she'll make the right decision if it ever falls on her."

Hyobe nodded. "They're in Hinata's room."

Hizashi nearly ran through the halls. He needed to get to the checkpoint himself, but he knew this was important. Not simply in case something _did_ happen to him, but for Hinata's sake as the next clan head. She'd only ever seen the side of the clan where she was protected. It was time she understood when the head was no longer protected by the clan.

He stopped outside the thin shoji door of Hinata bedroom and took a deep breath to erase any worry or uncertainty from his face. No need to make them more upset than they surely were. The second he slid open the door four feet pounded against the floor and slammed the two bodies they belonged to right into him.

"Dad!"

"Uncle Hizashi!"

Hizashi gently pushed them both back into the room and closed the door behind him. "It's all right, Neji, Hinata. Calm down. What've they told you?"

"They said something horrible happened to the Uchihas and now we might be going to war," Neji answered in one long breath. "Is it true?"

"Something horrible did happen, but we're not going to war," he assured them. He forced them both sit down and knelt in front of them, addressing each as seriously as any of the adults. "What I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy for you to understand, it's not easy for us to understand, but you're both too old for us to shelter you from what's happened. One of the Uchihas, Uchiha Itachi, last night he killed his clan. All but his brother, Sasuke."

Neji and Hinata stared at one another, as if somewhere in the other's face was a reasonable explanation of what Hizashi said. Hinata leaned over and curled her hand into Neji's. "Sasuke-kun's in my class at the academy."

"I don't think he's going to be in class for a while, Hinata," Hizashi said, reaching out to softly stroke her cheek.

Neji straightened up and tried his best to exude maturity and confidence next to Hinata. "Why'd he kill them all?"

"We don't know," Hizashi admitted, "but we have to find him. He's a criminal now, and he has to be brought back to the village to pay for what he's done. That's why Hokage-sama called for us to help him. The Hyuugas are one of several families in the village whose techniques are especially apt to tracking people. It's our responsibility as a part of the village to respond when it's threatened or attacked, no matter how dangerous. And I'm leaving to join them in the search, too."

"But . . . but you're clan head," Hinata squeaked.

"That's right, Hinata, I'm clan head and that's what I'm going as." Hizashi pulled her from Neji's comforting grip and looked on her alone. It was a lesson only she could learn.

"The clan head isn't someone who simply issues orders and stays away from danger," he explained. "In the times when the clan is most frightened, most in need of a leader, that's when the clan head steps out in front of everyone and is the first one to enter the danger. Just like the village looks to the Hokage, when the clan doesn't know what else to do, they look to the clan head to be there for them. And because we're a part of the village, the clan head should be the first one to come when the Hokage calls for the Hyuugas. You must be strong when everyone else wavers. The reason you're given a life of privilege and respect is because when the greatest dangers come, you're expected to make the most sacrifice. That's why I'm going with them, because Uchiha Itachi is a danger to the village, and if he's a danger to the village, he's a danger to the clan. As clan head I can't let our family go out and face such a danger without me."

He leaned in and kissed her on the top of her head before turning and doing the same to Neji. He stared at the two children before him for a moment, at their confused –and so very beautiful– faces.

"I love you both, and I'm proud of you both." Hizashi hugged them one last time and, without another word or comforting gaze, left the room. They'd understand one day, and he was determined to be there to see it.


	11. Reassessment

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

The class was silent when Hinata walked in that morning. She'd been late that day. Hizashi and Naomi were unsure if they wanted to send either of them back to the academy so soon or wait it out a few more days. Eventually they decided it was better they return with the rest of the students, but Ko was still ordered to walk them to the academy door (he did allow them to go to class on their own though). She hadn't expected it to be so silent when she entered, though. Everyone's eyes turned on her, and it only took a quick glance around the room to find out why. Sasuke's chair remained empty. She doubted he'd be in class for a while more still.

Even Iruka, their new teacher that year, felt the unease in the class and did his best to keep everyone engaged. His announcement at the beginning of class about the massacre and Sasuke's temporary absence didn't help in that regard. The only voices besides Iruka's were the soft, cricket whispers that made the air heavy and stiff. At least until lunch.

"Hinata. Hinata." Naruto plopped into Shikamaru's chair with more enthusiasm than anyone else in class had that day and scooted close enough to make Hinata's cheeks burn.

It'd been nice when Iruka replaced Kiku as their teacher that year, since he knew nothing about her aunt and uncle's prohibition against being friends with Naruto. Unfortunately they still kept it to a minimum; Iruka often shot odd looks their way whenever they talked, but he didn't stop them. They figured as long as it stayed with looks they'd be safe to be proper friends again.

"So, Hinata," Naruto continued in a hushed voice, "you're from a big clan, right? Do you know what's really going on with the Uchiha thing? I mean, I only overhear things. The memorial and what Iruka-sensei said is the most anyone's told me about it."

She took a deep breath, the same one she had to take anytime Naruto's face was that close to hers, and fixed her gaze on his nose. She'd learned it made it easier to talk to him if she didn't look him in the eyes. The same thing happened when she tried to talk to the little whisker marks on his cheeks – that'd left her tongue tied for a full minute. She wasn't fully sure why it was so hard to look at him when they talked, but it was.

"It was huge that night," she finally managed to explain. "The whole clan was preparing for war. The Hokage called on Uncle Hizashi and he went out with half the clan in search of Uchiha Itachi. He said every tracking family in Konoha was out there looking for him. One team found him, but they were all killed, and they had _two_ ANBU with them. One of the branch family was in the team. We had the funeral yesterday."

"So one guy really killed everyone but Sasuke?" he asked, leaning back to take in the information.

Hinata nodded, her pretty face turning sour at the thought. "Yeah, and it was his brother. I tried imagining Neji-niisan hurting the clan or Aunt Naomi and Uncle Hizashi, but I _can't_. I mean, how can a person do that to their family? I feel bad for Sasuke-kun. Not only is his brother a criminal now, but he's all alone? Even when my parents died I had Aunt Naomi and Uncle Hizashi and Neji-niisan to help me. He has no one."

"Where is he?"

Hinata thought back to all the bits and pieces she'd been hearing since the massacre. "I think he's with Sandaime-sama right now. But from what I've heard in the clan that's just until they figure out what to do."

Naruto's nose twitched, and Hinata caught a glimmer of loneliness slipping into his expression. "People'll take care him."

"Kind of like how people take care of you," Hinata treaded carefully. There were still a few subjects she knew Naruto preferred they not talk about. His day to day life outside of the academy was one of them. "You know, Sasuke-kun's kind of like you now. Maybe you could be friends with him when he comes back."

Naruto scowled at Hinata with a face somewhere between 'eaten bad fish' and 'someone farted in the room.' "Me and that jerk Sasuke? Yeah, right."

Hinata shrugged. "You don't know, he might be different after this. I don't think I'd be the same if that happened to me."

"It'll prolly make him more of a jerk," he scoffed, but Hinata caught his gaze drifting to the front of the room where Sasuke's chair sat empty. Whatever he was really thinking he shook it off like an unwanted bug. "Even if I did he'd prolly say, 'who wants to be friends with an idiot like you?'"

"Well, then he'd be the idiot, because I like being friends with you," Hinata defended with a smile.

"Yeah," Naruto laughed, "but you're nice."

Hinata giggled awkwardly from behind tightly closed lips and quickly turned her attention to the amazingly complex and absolutely refusing to untie knot of her bento before Naruto continued the conversation any further. One day she was going to have to figure out why she couldn't talk after he said things like that. She had a feeling it would explain the not being able to look at him problem, too.

* * *

The walk home felt strange to Neji. Normally he could barely hear the person next to him when they walked up the commercial district, but the village was still mute in shock and grief. Hinata was unusually somber too, though he noticed traces of a smile flicker across her lips here or there. Her day must have been slightly better than his. The whole day had felt strange, really. The only thing anyone in class had talked about was the massacre, everyone telling different bits and pieces to add to the legend of that night. Neji'd remained quiet whenever someone asked if he knew what happened.

That night was still hard for him to think about. There was something he couldn't explain, something he couldn't even identify, but it frightened him. An entire clan being killed by one of their own. A proud and old clan, like the Hyuuga, simply gone. All erased from the world save for one boy and the criminal who killed them. Neji couldn't name what it was he felt, but it made him stay next to Hinata for the two days it took Hizashi to return home and made him walk the halls of the house each night since, listening to the sounds of the family sleeping. He'd walk them again tonight, just to know they were still there.

The clan was different now, too. He saw it at the funeral for Shin, the brancher who died in the fight with Itachi, and at the public memorial held for the Uchiha clan. He didn't know how long it would last, but for now at least the bitterness between the houses was gone. Everyone was worried, and a protective atmosphere surrounded the whole compound, especially around the children. Even for Hinata, who had most often been regarded with a certain amount of bitter disdain before. Neji knew it probably wouldn't last, not once the shock wore off, but he wished it would. The clan felt better like this.

The guards at the gate to the Hyuuga compound stopped them when they arrived. Neji noted their tense expressions cautiously as one stepped up and bowed. "Hinata-sama, Neji-sama, you're to go to the training yards immediately. Hyobe-sama and Hizashi-sama are waiting for you."

Neji resisted the urge to pull Hinata closer. He wasn't supposed to act too protective of her around the clan, but when both his father and his grandfather were _waiting_ for them something wasn't right. And after everything that had happened in the last week a part of him didn't care if he was too protective.

"Go on," Ko encouraged, "you don't want to keep them waiting."

Neji could think of plenty of reasons to keep them waiting, unfortunately he knew he couldn't use them. Putting on a pleasant expression to try and reassure his sister-cousin, Neji shirked towards the main house training grounds. "Come on, might as well get whatever it is over with."

"I guess," Hinata replied with much less confidence. He knew she still hated being paraded before their grandfather. Hyobe always found fault with her.

It was slightly odd that _he_ was being called too, though. Hyobe didn't have as much of an interest in Neji since he wasn't the heir (which Neji would never admit aloud but it pleased him immensely). They stopped by the kitchen to drop off their bentos before heading out to the back porch which led to the training yards, but what they saw outside stopped them both.

It wasn't merely Hizashi and Hyobe waiting for them. Yumi, Hinata's grandmother, as well as Kanjiro and Takeru, two other deciding members of the clan council, and a number of powerful members of the clan sat along the long wooden porch that made up the perimeter of the training yard. Their conversations ended when they took note of Neji and Hinata, each straightening up to sit properly. Hizashi broke off his argument with Hyobe –it had to be an argument the way Hizashi's jaw was clenched and his knuckles were white with restraint– and approached them.

"Why're so many people here, Dad?" Neji asked, suppressing every single urge he had to stand in front of his nervous sister-cousin and block her from their audience. It wasn't easy as upset as his father looked.

"We've come to see Hinata," Hyobe answered from behind Hizashi, who rolled his eyes in return (not that Hyobe could see him). "Given recent events with the Uchihas, we feel it's appropriate to see how our heir is progressing. It's important she's able to handle her responsibilities once she becomes clan head, and better to find her deficiencies now while they can still be corrected."

Neji's stomach twisted. Hinata didn't do well with people standing there judging her. It was why she learned better with other children or under Hizashi rather than Hyobe. Neji was beginning to understand why his father looked so angry.

"And Neji," Hyobe added as returned to his seat next to the others, "you'll be her sparring partner."

Now Neji was certain he knew why his father was so angry. There was no way they were going to see Hinata's improvement if they were comparing her to him. It wasn't fair. By the instinctive step Hinata took away from everyone, she knew it too. Hizashi offered Hinata a consoling nod and motioned for the two of them to enter the yard.

"Just focus on me," Neji whispered to Hinata as he crossed the yard to face off against her. They might be making him fight her, but that didn't mean he couldn't help showcase her talents. Hinata was more flexible than him and her reflexes had improved a lot over the years. He was going to be the aggressor in this spar, so he could steer the fight to emphasize her skills instead of her deficiencies, which tended to include strength and offensive abilities.

Hizashi rejoined the others, though he remained standing as a silent pillar of protest of what was about to occur. Neji slid into his opening stance and activated byakugan while Hinata –hesitantly– followed suit. He wished he could just refuse on principle, but not even Hinata could refuse Hyobe and the council until she was officially clan head, so they all had to bear down and suffer through it as best they could. All eyes were on them, watching them, grading them like cattle at the slaughter, until finally Hyobe called out, "Begin."

Neji rushed Hinata, taking control of the fight right from the start and pushing her into a strong defensive position. If he kept her on the defensive for now then they wouldn't have to see her weaker offensive tactics until he created a suitable opening for her. She fell into the rhythm easily; he could see in her fixed gaze she was taking his advice and ignoring (as best she could) their attentive audience. She diverted his strikes with quick parries, taking the openings he offered and, though not connecting more than a glance, made each attempt count.

Jyuuken was a style of finesse and patience. Against an opponent using traditional taijutsu it appeared strange and ineffective despite the deadly results occurring within. But against another jyuuken user it almost became a dance. Each choreographed step weighed and measured with the opponent's until a step forward was matched with a step back, a sweep to the side with a spin away, a strike to the chest with a backbend dodge. Neji knew her moves and she knew his, so their dance was steady and in sync as he slowly offered more openings for her to turn the fight in her favor.

"Neji!"

Hyobe's shout startled both children out of their concentration and caused Neji's last palm strike to land solidly into Hinata's shoulder when he'd only meant to knick her. The two children faced their grandfather, their heads lowered enough to show respect.

"Neji," he called again in a voice that ran like ice through Neji's veins, "stop coddling her."

Neji bit the inside of his cheek to stay his initial reply. After a deep breath he answered calmly, "I thought you wanted an assessment of her skills. I was showing you what she's skilled in."

"We want to see how she handles a real fight against you, not this exhibition. Now begin again and fight her at your level, not hers." Hyobe left no room for dissention, and behind him Neji watched his father's arms cross over his chest to cover how tightly his fists were clenched.

This wasn't simply a fight to assess Hinata, Neji realized, this was to assess him as well. That's why he was her partner, so they could see what he was capable of. The question he couldn't answer no matter how hard he watched them with byakugan was which one were they more interested in?

The children turned back to face each other again, but as they each scrutinized the other for a first move, Neji could see Hinata's left arm shaking as she struggled to maintain her form through the pain. His last strike had done real damage, which was only going to make a quick fight end even faster. He hoped Hinata saw in his face how much he didn't want to do this.

She made the first move this time, running hard and fast to get as many strikes in before either her left arm failed her or Neji broke through her defense. With two good arms she might have even survived for a while, but Neji deflected her attacks with more ease than he wanted to admit and countered each attempt with a solid strike. For all her weakness, Hinata had just as much tenacity and desperation to keep going, though Neji saw the truth in her shaking lips and terrified eyes: she just wanted it all to be over.

A failed sweep at his side gave him the opening he needed. Pulling in his chakra so he'd do nothing more damaging than wind her, Neji struck the center of her chest and watched his sister-cousin tumble to the dusty ground. He looked to Hyobe for confirmation. If he'd used chakra, that would have been a kill strike. Surely that was enough to end this escapade.

Hyobe glanced at the others in the council but received no voiced reply. Finally he offered Neji a slow nod, and Neji let byakugan recede. Hyobe waited for Hinata to right herself before speaking again, but the disappointment on his face was enough to make Hinata's eyes drop in shame.

"She's still quite weak in jyuuken," he commented with no more love in his voice than he would for a dog in the street.

Neji saw Hizashi bristling behind him. "Perhaps compared to Neji, but for her age she's almost average."

"The head of the clan is not simply 'almost average'," Hyobe returned.

"Considering where she was five years ago her improvement should be commended," Hizashi snapped back,

Hyobe tilted his head up enough to look back and Neji watched as his father appeared to stretch and contract every muscle in his body on singular command in order to keep still. "I didn't know you were in the habit of commending mediocrity, Hizashi."

Hizashi closed his eyes and Neji knew that was one of his methods to calm down. "Hinata has worked very hard to improve," he continued, ignoring Hyobe's stinging comment.

"Unfortunately she's not succeeding," Hyobe finished, his disapproving gaze focused solely on the trembling girl still on stage before them.

"There's more to being clan head than proficiency in jyuuken," Yumi interrupted before anyone crossed a line that couldn't be returned from. By the fury in Hizashi's eyes, Neji was certain it would be his father who crossed that line.

Kanjiro, who sat beside Yumi, nodded, though his hidden thoughts were more interested in Hinata than the growing tension. "Indeed, deficiency in jyuuken can be supplemented by a firm understanding of the clan and solid leadership."

Everyone sitting there, judging her in their clean, unwrinkled kimonos, shifted glances to each of the others. The small, terrified girl standing with her head bowed, too afraid to look at them, did not inspire a commanding presence. She looked far more capable of breaking under another harsh word than facing off against . . . anyone, really.

"Perhaps she has an understanding of the clan, at least," Kanjiro amended. "Come closer, Hinata-sama."

In slow, forced steps Hinata approached the unyielding force of the council. It took only one shake of Hizashi's head to stay Neji where he was. This was not a moment Neji or Hizashi could shield her from no matter how much they wanted to. He tried not to see how badly her left arm shook at her side, or how her eyes were firmly locked on her dust-covered sandals. He tried to think about anything else but how every instinct was telling him to run up and yell at them all to stop tormenting his little sister, how he wanted to steal her away so they couldn't look down on her with their condescending eyes. He stared at the weathered porch, the dark wood was old but well-maintained. He looked to the chipped and pot-marked targets hanging high on the nearby training posts waiting to be used once again. He watched the motionless servant, half hiding behind the cracked-open shoji door.

Neji's anger suddenly diffused under a wave of confusion. He searched the area, behind the council. The brancher servants that worked in the main house stood as still as the judges seated before them. Their interest wasn't on those they should be attending though, it was on Hinata. It wasn't just the council who was judging Hinata's fitness at that moment, the entire clan was. What they saw here would filter back into the branch house, and if they viewed her as unfit as the council did, the trouble between the houses would reignite with a vengeance.

Why did this have to happen now, when for the first time the clan felt united? It was as if their grandfather wanted to make sure everyone knew how little he thought of Hinata as the heir. All he was doing was instigating the division again. And Hizashi was just letting him. If he was supposed to be acting clan head why couldn't he stop this? Neji could see he clearly wanted to, but he just stood there with his arms folded and jaw locked.

Yumi's softer voice returned Neji to the display before him. "Hinata, I want you to tell us about the clan. What it means to you. How you see it. What you think needs to be done. Anything you want to say."

Hinata finally looked up, her wounded eyes grasping to the kindness in her grandmother's voice. She fumbled with the hem of her shirt as she thought on how to answer. The anticipation in the air was almost palatable, but not from the council. The uninvited and unintended watchers from the branch family stood rigid. They, more than anyone, wanted to hear what this eight-year-old girl had to say.

Yet, Hinata looked so fragile and her voice shook when she began, "The clan . . . the clan's my family. It's better than anywhere else in the village. It's an old clan and it has problems because of that, but we're family and that's what should matter."

Neji liked her answer. The council, on the other hand, looked less than impressed, but behind them and tucked away in the corners there was an honest curiosity in the branchers' eyes. Not certain, but cautiously intrigued. Neji didn't like thinking that way, since he didn't see them as anything more than siblings, but to the rest of the clan this was the first time a main family heir was raised by a brancher. No one was sure what she would think.

Kanjiro continued for the council. "What's your understanding of the problems between the main and branch families?"

Hinata braved a glance at Kanjiro, but quickly returned her attention to Yumi, who was still smiling supportively at her granddaughter. "There are rules that say the branch family can't learn some techniques that the main family can. And they don't like that the seal can hurt them."

Main and branch looked on with impassive expressions masking their opinions, or perhaps pains. Only Hizashi was readable, the worry plain across his brow. The next question was obvious, and her answer could do a lot to determine her future in the clan. Neji's stomach twisted when Kanjiro asked it.

"What do you think about that?"

Hinata shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny of her growing audience and turned her eyes to the ground again. Neji could see in her entire body –the fidgeting fingers, the avoiding gaze, the way she pulled her lower lip between her teeth to calm herself– she wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment.

"I don't understand all of it," she admitted. "Neji-niisan's stronger than me, but he's not allowed to learn techniques I am. It doesn't make sense to me why. And I know we need to protect byakugan, but why would you want to hurt the clan?" Hinata looked up to Hyobe, honestly asking the former clan head the question so many in the clan had wondered. "I don't understand why it has to hurt."

Hyobe's blank eyes traveled from Hinata to Neji, and behind him Hizashi's frame stiffened. "Neji, can you think of a reason why the suppression seal would be used?"

The air around the training yards froze with the close of Hyobe's words. Every servant that had been listening to Hinata's answer with an open mind now stood as rigid as Hizashi, their faces twisted in mute submission. To ask a brancher that question was cruel. To ask a brancher child was downright disgusting. If any of the council noticed the chill surrounding the horrified branchers behind them, they showed it in nothing more than a tedious shift of position.

Yet Neji –as much as he hated to admit it since he wished the suppression part of the seal never existed– did have an answer. He'd thought about it many times since the massacre, and it'd given him comfort. Straightening up so that he faced his grandfather's question with resolute confidence, Neji said, "If someone like Uchiha Itachi was in the clan, the suppression seal would stop them before they hurt too many people."

What might have been a twitch of satisfaction tempted Hyobe's lips for the briefest of seconds before returning to his leader's neutrality. "That is the very reason I was hoping to hear. These rules are not entirely pleasant or fair, but they are, in their own way, necessary. It's unfortunate you don't understand this simple concept, Hinata."

"Hyobe-sama," Yumi interjected quietly, "is that necessary?"

"We can't leave her to remain with these soft-hearted, naive ideas," Hyobe reprimanded with skilled precision. "She could do with some of Neji's practicality. In truth, it's more unfortunate that Neji was sealed. If not he'd be an ideal candidate fo–"

"Enough," Hizashi snapped. "If you're done with your assessment, then leave me to her training. What good comes from berating her like this?"

Hyobe finally turned his attention back to Hinata, now on the verge of tears. Neji wanted to go to her, but he knew at that moment it would only make things worse. But something in the atmosphere had altered in a way that made every hair on his body stand up on end. Hizashi had never yelled at Hyobe like that before.

"Perhaps, Hizashi," Hyobe began in slow deliberation, "if you trained her as well as your son we wouldn't be having this problem."

Neji didn't know what to call the emotion he read in his father's face. He saw shock in the slight part of his lips, disbelief in the widening of his eyes, fury in the set tension of his jaw, and something more, something that only came when he put all the other emotions together and multiplied them by a thousand and then multiplied that by infinity itself. Beyond hatred. Beyond loathing. Neji wasn't sure there was even a word in existence that properly embodied what his father must have felt at that moment.

But it wasn't an outburst from his father that shocked everyone or the subtle attempts to diffuse the situation from Yumi, it was Hinata. Her trembling, not yet crying figure climbed up onto the porch and threw her arms around her grandfather's neck in a huge, unconditional hug. Just as quickly as she appeared up there with him, she was back in her spot in front of the council with her eyes on the dusty ground.

No one was quite sure what to say. Even Hizashi's unnamed rage was subdued by the confusion of her act. Hyobe was the first to settle himself to speak, though he too had to shake off the bewilderment of his unexpected hug. "Hinata, what was that for?"

Neji was certain if Hinata's face lowered any further her chin would have to embed itself into her chest. The angry, frustrated, and expectant eyes of both the council and the branch servants around them fell hard on the tiny girl and for once no Hyuuga had a clue what was going on in her mind.

"Hinata," Yumi encouraged, her voice tender on the frightened girl, "it's okay, just answer the question."

Hinata reached a hand out behind her and, ignoring what he knew he shouldn't do, Neji ran up to take her hand. It wasn't protecting her –he stayed behind so she was still the one on display– he was doing what his parents had told him to: being there when she needed support.

More to him than to Hyobe and the council, Hinata's weak voice squeaked out. "Grandpa seemed to be upset, so I thought a hug might cheer him up and then he'd stop saying things that made everyone angry."

Neji wasn't laughing. He bit his cheek, curled his tongue, and shoved every last ounce of willpower he had to keep the smirk on his face the _only_ visible reaction. His father, on the other hand, was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. No one else made a sound for several moments until a light-voiced snickering beside Hyobe joined Hizashi's open-mouthed laughter. Yumi covered her mouth when Hyobe sent a side-long glare her way but couldn't stop the mirth in her face, neither could several other members of the council who were avidly avoiding Hyobe's gaze. Behind them, all the servants struggled to maintain their composure, and one had to hurry inside the house before she lost control.

It was hard to believe that a moment before the entire yard felt ready to explode, and now –thanks to Hinata's innocent idea– the entire situation was diffused. Hyobe might have been right, Hinata was soft-hearted, but why was that a bad thing? Why was _not_ wanting to hurt someone a weakness? Neji couldn't have stopped his father and grandfather from fighting, but Hinata did.

"Things are not so easily fixed, Hinata," Hyobe said. Unfortunately, his seriousness felt unnatural highlighted by Hizashi's slowly diminishing laughter.

"You give her too little credit," Hizashi said when he finally managed to calm enough to talk. He smiled at Hinata and waited for her to brave looking up again before continuing. "Her soft heart may be what this clan needs. Now, seeing as this has no further point, I'm taking the children in."

He waved Neji and Hinata to join him, which they quickly complied, and listened to Hyobe's call to stop only so much as the stay outside when he shut the shoji door behind them.

The servant that had been watching from behind the door held out her hand to Hinata, a broad smile on her face. "Come along, Hinata-sama, Neji-sama. Let's get you both cleaned up for supper."

Hinata held tight to Neji's hand as the servant led them through the halls and continued to hold back the tears that had been threatening to break free for the last ten minutes. "Neji-niisan, did I mess up again? Everyone was laughing and Grandpa looked madder. I just wanted everyone to calm down."

"Hinata-sama," the servant answered before Neji had a chance, "you were wonderful. Hyobe-sama's needed a good hug for a long time. It may not mean much, but I'm proud of you. Trust me, a lot of us are proud of you."

The servant nodded toward a few others whispering in the halls, the story flashing through the building like wildfire. Snickers and amused gasps became a constant background chirping, but to Neji's surprise there was no malice hidden within it. Hyobe might not have liked how her assessment turned out, but Hinata's actions showed the branch family something that had been absent in the main family for generations. She showed she actually cared about them. When she should have been as angry and mortified by Hyobe's censure as the branchers were when he asked Neji about the seal, she was worried about everyone else and refused to hate even Hyobe himself.

She wasn't ready to be clan head, but Neji refused to believe their grandfather was right. Hinata was the better choice, because the clan head should avoid making the division between the houses worse, not make them deeper. To Neji, Hinata was better suited than even their grandfather. From the smiles and whispered congratulations from the branchers they passed, the clan might just think so too.


	12. Lost Potential

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

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Hinata set aside the trowel and wrapped her gloved hand around a large clod of dirt from her garden. When she opened it stayed tightly pressed into a small ball in her hand and glistened with moisture, which told Hinata the ground wasn't yet ready to be planted. According to the gardeners, who were nice enough to let her work on the little garden on her own unless asked, if the dirt didn't fall apart easily she still had to wait to plant for the spring. Konoha didn't get severe winters often, but even during the mildest winters the ground still hardened and needed to rest.

Working in the garden always reminded Hinata of her mother and the few times she still remembered sitting by while her mother pulled weeds or picked the fresh herbs. Yumi promised to teach Hinata how to make the medicinal salves in her mother's books once the garden started to produce that season. It was probably the reason she was so anxious to start planting. Too bad winter wasn't letting go just yet.

She pulled off her gloves and sighed, staring at the ground as if it might suddenly dry out and be ready to plant if only she watched it long enough. It didn't, but she stayed out there a bit more anyway. She didn't really want to go back to the house. Naomi had taken Neji over to the branch house to visit with her parents for her mother's birthday, which meant if Hinata went back home it was either training with Hizashi or, if she was really unlucky, Hyobe would catch her and force her to study clan law with him. He was especially fervent with her since the little display in front of the council a couple months earlier. There was definitely a downside to growing up and understanding things.

She was a good five minutes into her 'avoid going home' boredom, which consisted of using the trowel to dig up and replace the same bit of earth over and over, when a familiar and very welcome voice called out behind her.

"Hinata-sama."

"Isamu-kun!" Hinata cried out, hurrying from her seat on the ground to run up and hug the young ninja. Since they'd been made genin almost eight months before, getting to see Isamu and Osamu was an uncommon occasion. Getting them both together was even harder to come by.

Isamu returned her hug and added a ruffle of her hair for good measure. "You barely got a solid look at me, how'd you know I'm Isamu? Don't tell me Aniki was right and I'm giving us away."

"I'm not telling," Hinata teased.

"No fair, we're supposed to be the mysteries here," he harrumphed, but the smirk on his face ruined all his disapproval. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and headed back to her garden. After one look at the sizable hole she'd been in the process of re-digging out, Isamu tugged on her short hair so Hinata was forced to look up at him. "Bored much?"

Hinata rolled her eyes in response. "Neji-niisan's off with Aunt Naomi, so I don't want to go home yet, and the ground's not ready to plant."

"Neji left you alone to the likes of Hizashi-sama and Hyobe-sama?" Isamu gasped. "How dare he? Well, I absolutely can't leave my favorite little lady to an afternoon like that. How about I steal you away for a late lunch in the village. My treat."

Hinata looked back toward the house. "Can you?"

Isamu chuckled a dark laugh that somehow didn't sound half as sinister without Osamu echoing. "The trick is to send a bunshin to inform them we're leaving while we walk out the compound honestly telling the guards that we've informed Hizashi-sama of our departure. That way, he can only get mad at us once we get back."

One quick seal and a poof of smoke later two identical Isamus popped down in front of Hinata's face. "So who's real?" they asked in unison, but the moment they finished the smile on the one on the left dropped like a stone in water.

Hinata reached out and rested a comforting hand on his arm. "Isamu-kun, are you okay?"

"It just isn't fun anymore," he said and turned to his clone. "Wait ten minutes so Hizashi-sama can't catch us if he doesn't like it."

The clone nodded as the real Isamu, still being held in Hinata's concerned grip, tugged her off toward the compound gate. Since the twins had been separated there was always something off when one came to visit alone. Before there was always an eternal optimism surrounding them; they exuded happiness all the time, which made it so easy to be happy around them. Lately though, it was more what Isamu showed right then. The smile was merely a half-hearted attempt.

At the gate he semi-honestly informed the guards that they'd informed Hizashi of their departure and he had permission (long ago from Naomi) to take Hinata out on his own. Hinata just stayed silently smiling at his side. She was a horrible liar. Luckily for her, Isamu was an expert even under the scrutiny of the skilled eyes of the Hyuugas. The guards didn't question it for a moment and released them to the village with little more than a 'take care of her' to Isamu.

It wasn't often that Hinata got to leave the compound without an escort. Isamu was _technically_ her escort, but she didn't count him as one. Proper escorts would never let her wander down random streets so she could explore the village. Proper escorts took her where she was supposed to go and back without deviation. In other words, proper escorts were boring, and Isamu was anything but boring.

Though he wasn't entirely exciting today, either. He didn't stop her from meandering down a pathway she'd never seen before, which ended up wrapping their path to the commercial district halfway around the perimeter of the village, but it wasn't the same as with Osamu. He was subdued. Even when he carried her on his back across the rooftops to shorten their trip to the restaurants (another thing that made him far better than a proper escort), he hardly made a flourish of any of his jumps. Hinata might not have had Isamu's exceptional talent in reading people, but she could feel his false cheer masking a loneliness he wouldn't let show.

Landing at the top of the street where most of the best restaurants were now recovering from the lunch rush, Isamu lowered Hinata to the ground. "So, what're you craving, Hinata-sama? Remember, my treat."

"What's good?" she asked, eyeing all the different places to eat with curiosity.

"Arg," he moaned, "I forget how little they let you off the leash. Honestly, they want you to become independent, just so long as you do it with someone watching over you. We've got to get you out of the compound alone more often."

"Neji-niisan's trying to convince them to let us walk to the academy by ourselves," she offered in a hopeful voice.

"It's about time. You need to fight for that, Hinata-sama. It's time you got to act like a normal kid."

Hinata shrugged and repeated her least favorite mantra, "I'm the heir."

"Bull crap," Isamu snapped like a viper in the weeds, "you're not the only heir to a family in the village. The council's just freaking cause it's their own stupid rules messing everything up for the family and they don't want to admit it. And when people screw with your life you've got to fight to get back to the way it should be."

Hinata'd never heard Isamu sound so bitter or seen anger in him like that since the day they found out he and Osamu were on separate teams. She didn't know how to respond, but Isamu didn't give her a chance. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off down the street. "Come on, Hinata-sama. We'll get lunch and then we're going to do whatever you want and don't even think about what the council wants for one minute."

"Bu–but won't Uncle Hizashi get mad if we don't get back after lunch?" she stuttered as she hurried to keep up with his angry pace.

"You let me worry about Hizashi-sama. You just start thinking about something you've always wanted to do." Isamu looked back at Hinata and he stopped them in the middle of the road. The bitterness in his face softened into a weak smile as he took in her confusion. "Sorry, Hinata-sama, I shouldn't be taking out my frustrations on you. If you'd rather go back to the compound that's fine."

"Well," she drawled, fidgeting with her shirt hem, "maybe not right away."

Isamu smirked and playfully shoved her walking again. "That's my Hinata-sama. Come on. How's barbeque sound?"

"You mean, the kind that you get to cook on the table in front of you?" Hinata asked excitedly, forgetting his earlier unease now that the familiar smile was beaming on his face again. "I've always wanted to go to one of those."

"Then we have a winner." Isamu held out his hand this time and waited for her to reach out and place hers gently in it. When he pulled her close for a one-arm hug, it almost felt like the old Isamu back again.

He led her down to the other end of the road to the large yakiniku restaurant. It was quieter than any restaurant Hinata had been in before, but Isamu told her that was because it was between the lunch and dinner rush. The hostess quickly greeted them and showed them to a small, enclosed table in an emptyish area near the front windows so they could watch the people pass by as they ate. It was only the second time she'd been to a restaurant without Hizashi or Naomi and it made her feel more grown up, even if Isamu ordered everything for them.

"Isamu-kun, can I ask you something?" Hinata asked after the waitress brought them their drinks.

"Anything, Hinata-sama."

Hinata twirled her glass between her fingers and talked to the brown liquid inside. "You still miss Osamu-kun, don't you?"

The exuberance he'd worked to reclaim after his outburst earlier faded into the dulled wood of the table between them. For his eyes to look any more miserable Osamu would had to have died. He took a drink to stall his answer, but eventually Isamu looked back up to Hinata. There was no smile on his face.

"Everyone said it'd get better once we got to know our teams and started going on missions." He slumped back into his seat and scowled at the people walking outside. "They were wrong. Not that my teammates aren't nice, but I can't stand working with them. They complain all the time that I don't communicate well with them. They're the ones who don't understand the idea of subtlety. I mean, I'm not expecting Hyuuga insight, but come one it's like they don't know basic body language. And they just don't understand . . . and . . . I just . . ."

Isamu closed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I miss Aniki still. I know Aniki's having the same problem with his team. This isn't how we expected it would be. We can't seem to adjust no matter how much time passes."

"I'm sorry," Hinata murmured, not sure how else to comfort her friend. Isamu and Osamu had always been the ones to help cheer her up, so she was out of her element. But she wanted to help him if she could.

"Thanks, Hinata-sama," Isamu said, running a hand through his long hair and trying his best to smile. "Here I invite you out and I'm the one ruining the afternoon. I shouldn't be bothering you with all this."

Hinata shook her head and grinned as brightly as she could. "We're friends. You help me when I'm upset, so I want to help too."

"Unfortunately, this isn't something you can help me with, Hinata-sama, but thank you. Sometimes having someone who doesn't judge us for it is help enough." He lifted his glass over the steaming grill and she quickly raised her own to toast each other.

The waitress stopped by with the variety plate of meat cut and ready for the grill. Isamu thanked her and went ahead to start the grilling, placing a couple slices of pork and beef on the grill between them. The meat sizzled and smoke billowed up from the juices falling onto the hot coals.

Hinata waited for him to set aside the plate of meat before continuing. She wasn't sure she should press the subject any further, but considering his outburst before and the honesty in his eyes when he talked about his team, Hinata thought he'd wanted to talk to someone for a while. "Do you think it'll ever get better for you and Osamu-kun?"

"Now see, you need to remember what I told you earlier," Isamu said as he flipped the meat on the grill. "Sometimes when things are messed up you've got to work to fix them yourself. That's why Aniki and I harassed our senseis until they agreed to let us enter the chuunin exam coming up in a few months. They kept saying it was too soon, but Aniki and I can be pretty annoying when we want to be."

"How will that help?" Hinata asked. She leaned over the grill and sniffed the wonderful smell of salted, cooked meat. This was definitely a good way to eat.

"A Hyuuga can be assigned to the compound, but you have to be a chuunin to request it," Isamu explained. "Once we're chuunin, we're going to ask Hizashi-sama to let us come home permanently. Then at least we'll be able to work together again. We're determined to make chuunin."

He let her absorb the information as he divvied out the now ready meat and set a new batch on the grill to cook. Hinata wanted to be happy at the news. After all, if Isamu and Osamu were working in the compound then she'd get to see them way more than she did lately. That idea thrilled her since she'd missed seeing the twins, and she'd missed seeing them genuinely happy the way they only were when they were together. As much as she wanted to feel happy, Isamu's face stopped her. His smile was strained and she saw something in his gaze that she didn't understand: shame.

"Do you not want to come home?" she asked.

Isamu stared at her a moment in surprise and quickly shook off any lingering negativity in his face. The twins were just as good at hiding the truth when they wanted to as they were at reading it. Hinata had a feeling she wasn't meant to see the shame he felt.

"It's not that we don't want to come home, not if it means we get to work together again," he finally admitted after a long over-chewing of the beef strip he'd smothered in sauce. "We're just not looking forward to what everyone's going to be saying, or thinking loudly to be more precise."

"I don't understand," she said.

"The way they all talked about us –the potential– they're all going to think it's a waste. We don't care, not really, but that doesn't mean we're looking forward to seeing in on everyone's faces." Isamu poked at the sizzling meat quickly browning and refused to look at her. "Hinata-sama, will you think badly of us if we give up and come home?"

Hinata wasn't exactly sure what he meant by give up. They'd still be chuunin, only they'd work for Hizashi instead of the Hokage. What she was sure of though was that Isamu was asking a very important question for him. He'd never refused to look at her before, and despite all his efforts, she could see pain hidden in his avoiding gaze. She'd have been willing to give him whatever answer that would've made him happy again, but she had no idea what that was, so she told him the truth.

"It'll be great if I get to see you and Osamu-kun more often again, just so long as you're both happy again. It's not fun to see you both looking miserable every time you come by."

For the first time that afternoon a real smile, not strained or masking or melancholic but an honest smile warmed Isamu's face. He leaned over the steaming grill and waved Hinata close. When she was in reaching distance, Isamu bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, Hinata-sama. I needed to hear someone say that."

She nodded and sat back down. The steam from the grill had heated her whole face brighter than the Hokage's red hat and she downed the rest of her tea in one gulp to try and cool off. For some reason she felt like she'd been cooked, too.

Isamu snickered and pointed his chopsticks at her. "Be careful, Hinata-sama, or you might just find a boy who enjoys making you turn red like that."

"I–it was th–the grill," she stuttered, the flaming color reaching the tips of her ears the more she struggled to speak.

"Of course it was," he teased. As embarrassed as she felt, the genuinely relaxed laughter coming from Isamu calmed her. He was back to the Isamu she'd grown up with, so she stuck her tongue out at him in return. She wasn't exactly in a position to talk.

"You make it too easy, Hinata-sama. It'll definitely be nice to mess with you and Ne–" Isamu stopped mid-tease, his face dropping as he stared at something outside the window. "Crap."

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked. She'd just cheered him up, she didn't want it ruined already. Embarrassing or not, it'd felt good to cheer him up on all her own.

Isamu scowled again, this time at the aisle next to them that headed to the front door. "Our lunch just got cut short."

A boy Isamu's age with short black hair and fury in his brown eyes walked right up to their booth and slammed his hands down on the table. "You'd never know we have a Hyuuga on our team since it took us two hours to find one person," he seethed.

Isamu glared back evenly, popping a piece of pork into his mouth to make the frustrated boy wait even longer for his reply. "Oh, did we have training today?"

Now, the twins prided themselves in their ability to lie, but right then not only could Hinata see it, so could the enraged out-of-claner. If it was possible to pop your own eyes out from sheer force of will, this boy was trying it.

"You know damn well we had training," he hissed back. "It was your idea to take the chuunin exam so stop skipping training. You do realize part of the exam is team based. You need us." Isamu rolled his eyes.

Hinata had seen plenty of people fight before, few could create a colder or more intense atmosphere than two Hyuugas (especially if it was main versus branch), but to watch Isamu actively instigate a fight felt wrong. If this was how their team worked all the time it was no wonder Isamu wanted to come back to the clan.

The boy's hands fisted over the table as he struggled to resist a very obvious urge to punch Isamu. "Sensei's waiting. We're supposed to drag you back for training if we have to."

"Well, he going to have to wait a bit more," Isamu replied as he tossed some money on the table. "I have to take Hinata-sama back to the compound first."

The boy looked Hinata up and down skeptically. "I think she's old enough to walk home on her own."

"What you think really doesn't matter. Until she's back in the compound Hinata-sama is my responsibility," Isamu snapped, which surprised Hinata more than anything. The last time she saw Isamu act like this was the day they found out they were on separate teams and got into the fight with the other brancher boys.

His teammate shoved off the table in disgust. "I see, you only take responsibility when it's convenient for you."

"Don't try and understand Hyuuga matters," Isamu said, standing up so he no longer looked up at his teammate. To Hinata that was a sign he was getting too serious in the argument. Sitting and scoffing was one thing, but standing so his body was no longer in an inferior position was a loud cry this needed to stop. She pushed past Isamu's teammate to take Isamu's hand and more importantly separate the two before things got physical.

"Come on, Isamu-kun. Let's go home so you can meet up with your team," she said, pulling Isamu toward the door.

"All right, Hinata-sama," he agreed, his eyes not leaving his teammate until all three were out on the open street.

His teammate stayed a step behind them the whole way home, like a guard escorting a prisoner to jail. The tension between them was as strong as any between the main and branch families under active insult. Hinata'd always expected teams to just magically get along once they were put together by the way the adults would talk about their days as genin, but that fantasy was quickly deteriorating the longer they walked in that foul, uneasy silence.

The guards at the gate leveled a similarly disturbing glare on Isamu as they approached. The one on the right stepped up, his eyes on Isamu. "Hizashi-sama wants to see you and Hinata-sama."

"I'm sure he does," Isamu sighed.

"Sensei's waiting," his teammate interrupted. It was the first thing he'd said since they'd left the restaurant and it made Isamu's brow twitch.

Isamu continued talking to the guards as if there'd been no disruption. "My sensei's calling for me. Please go with Hinata-sama and tell Hizashi-sama that it was all my idea. I'll come by and see him as soon as I'm through with my team." The two guards eyes flashed so quickly to Isamu's teammate the boy didn't even notice. They nodded.

Isamu offered a somber grin to Hinata. "Sorry to cut the afternoon short, Hinata-sama. Thanks for listening."

She snatched his sleeve before he turned fully away. "Are you going to be okay?"

He watched her for a moment, then with hands fast as lightning Hinata's hair was sticking up and charged with enough static electricity to light the entire Hyuuga compound. "Don't you worry about me, Hinata-sama," Isamu joked, a full smile plastered across his mischievous face. "It'll be better soon enough."

* * *

It wasn't often that Hizashi was summoned to the Hokage's office, but unlike the last time this was no emergency messenger in the middle of the night. Hizashi counted that as a blessing already. He wasn't sure why he was being called, though. Normally when the Hokage needed him the reason was obvious or someone in the clan would have informed him of any incidents requiring the Hokage's attention. Today was out of the ordinary.

The Hokage's secretary showed Hizashi in without delay and from the looks of it he was the last of this little assembly to arrive. The clan head always knew each of the instructors supervising the Hyuuga genin by name. Since Hiashi's death, Hizashi knew them all by face as well. It was a necessary part of the added security of the compound. Standing near Sandaime's desk were two jounin instructors that upon seeing told him who, if not what, this meeting was about.

Sato Hikari was a twenty-four-year-old newly made jounin, and working with Osamu's team was her first long term assignment as a jounin. Ueda Kouta was older, in his early thirties and his years of battle experience showed on his face in scars and a multi-reconstructed nose. He was Isamu's instructor. Hizashi wasn't sure he wanted to know what the twins did at the chuunin exam in Iwagakure to warrant the Hokage's involvement.

"Hizashi, thank you for coming," Sandaime welcomed him, motioning for him to take a seat across from him. "I'm afraid I've come across a rather unexpected problem, and I wanted your opinion before I make my decision."

"Did something happen at Iwagakure I'm not aware of?" he asked as he nodded respectfully in refusal, choosing instead to stand behind the offered chair. Depending on what this was about, Hizashi preferred to remain on equal ground with the standing jounin.

"Nothing like that," Sandaime dismissed quickly, "the problem is more what to do with Osamu and Isamu now. They performed admirably at the chuunin exam and represented Konoha exceptionally well."

A small swell of relief ebbed throughout Hizashi's body. Knowing those boys, he could imagine what they might do if they weren't mindful of their surroundings. "I'm not certain what the problem is then, or at least one I can help you with," Hizashi admitted.

Sandaime nodded and Hizashi noted the uneasy glance that flashed over to their instructors. "As you know, Hizashi, being made chuunin is not solely a matter of battle prowess and skill. I always consult with the jounin instructors of potential chuunin to hear how they're progressing. After speaking with Osamu and Isamu's instructors though, I appear to be at an impasse. I've never had recommendations quite like this before. Are you aware of the reasons Osamu and Isamu insisted on taking the chuunin exam so soon?"

"I learned long ago not to ask why those two do most things," Hizashi answered to lighten the strained mood building between Sandaime and the twins' jounin instructors. It didn't work very well.

Kouta stepped up at the Hokage's silent request, his stern face showing no mirth or warmth at all. "The rest of my team overheard Isamu and his brother talking in Iwagakure. They intend to request a permanent post at the Hyuuga compound so that they can be together again."

"Which can't be requested until they're chuunin," Hizashi finished for them. He knew that the twins had been upset at being separated, but he'd never expected them to go so far as leave active duty. Their careers had barely begun.

"Indeed," Sandaime sighed. "That alone would convince me that they aren't ready to be chuunin, however their instructors have given me some rather unfortunate recommendations." Sandaime motioned to Hikari to come forward.

The young woman was far more sympathetic than Kouta. Hizashi saw the reluctance in her fair features and the shame of failure. "I don't think Osamu should be a shinobi." Kouta nodded in agreement.

"Isn't that overreacting a little?" Hizashi defended. The boys were difficult at times, but the potential was there.

"No," Kouta answered in a voice like iron nails, "after talking with Hikari, I'm certain of it. They're incapable of working in a team. It's not merely hogging the spotlight or thinking they're better than the team, if the other isn't there they refuse to work with anyone else. And whether they realize it or not, they continually sabotage the team's ability to function. At this point I don't believe they want to learn to acclimate."

"What's sad is if Osamu could work with others, his skills _are_ chuunin worthy," Hikari added, the sorrow dragging her voice down. Unlike Kouta, she was blaming herself for Osamu's failure.

"As you can see these aren't the usual recommendations I receive," Sandaime said, releasing Kouta and Hikari to the return to the background. "I don't like the idea that such talent and potential would just be given up on, but I must take their teammates' well-being into account too. Based on everything I've heard I'm left with only two viable options. Either I keep them as genin and hope that they come to accept their teams in time, or I promote them to chuunin under the condition they're assigned to the Hyuuga compound."

"Those positions aren't normally permanent," Hizashi explained. "Usually they're given to those who have a reason to stay in the village, new parents or those recovering from injury. The few who're permanently at the compound either can't be on active duty anymore but don't want a desk job or have been chosen by the council to work for the clan. The rest of the positions are rotated through those on active duty but not on direct assignment. To put boys that young as a permanent assignment isn't something I would normally agree to."

Not to mention if they left active duty after only a year they might never be able to return to it. The missions taken during the team years were what built a shinobi's skill base for future assignments. Without that they'd lack the experience to advance anywhere in the village when they were older. Hizashi wasn't sure he was willing to destroy the Osamu and Isamu's careers so early even if it was what they wanted.

"They aren't ready to be apart," Kouta said from his place near the wall. There was no doubt or hesitation in his words. "Until they're willing to separate they shouldn't be on active duty. The more dangerous the missions, the greater the chance that their refusal to work with their team is going to get someone killed."

Whatever debate had been ruminating in Sandaime's aged eyes faded with Kouta's declaration. He'd made up his mind. Focusing on Hizashi, he asked, "Are you willing to allow Osamu and Isamu to come to the compound?"

To think such potential would be wasted because of their stubbornness. It was more than disappointing; it was a failure. But Hizashi trusted Sandaime's opinion. Reluctantly, he nodded. "If it's your judgment, then I'll agree and arrange for their training to continue as much as it can at the compound."

When Sandaime spoke next, he faced each of the three standing before him in turn and his voice was heavy with resignation, "It's unfortunate, but they'll be made chuunin."

Hizashi hoped the boys understood exactly what they'd done, because there was no coming back from this decision. They were Hyuuga now, nothing more.


	13. Springtime of Youth

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

The sunlight struck the cool metal surface cradled like a tiny god in Neji's hands. He ran his thumb over the engraving, relishing in the coarse prickle of the newly shaved metal against his skin. It was the most amazing thing he'd ever held before and it was _his_. Neji didn't want to stop staring at it.

"All right everyone," his teacher announced, finally dragging Neji's attention away from the object he held, "you'll meet here tomorrow for team assignments. Don't be late, and congratulations to everyone, especially our number one rookie genin for the year, Hyuuga Neji. Congratulations."

Sure, Neji was smirking, but as far as he was concerned he earned the right to. He'd worked since he came to the academy to maintain his place as number one in his class. Besides, he really was the most talented of them all. He could just imagine how proud his parents were going to be when they heard the news. Not that they should be surprised.

Neji grasped the navy strap on either end of the forehead protector and tied it securely over the black scarf that hid the seal from the public. It felt good, so much better than the scarf. He didn't feel the same hatred of the seal that the branch family did –not after being raised in the main family with Hinata and not after the Uchiha massacre– but there was a liberation wearing the forehead protector. When outsiders looked at him they'd no longer see the scarf, no longer wonder why he wore it every day, why he refused to ever take it off. No, they'd see the mark of Konoha and know exactly why it was there.

He pushed past the others still in class and hurried out of the room and down the empty academy halls. The genin test always took longer than regular classes, and Neji wondered if that wasn't on purpose. They came in with the rest of the students, but they left alone to walk the empty halls as genin. A rite of passage that he exited with his head held high.

Outside, rocking back and forth on the lone swing beneath a nearby tree, Hinata waited and laughed happily with the boy she wasn't supposed to be friends with. Neji wasn't certain what he thought of Hinata's little crush on the Uzumaki boy. Then again, he knew Hinata didn't quite realize it was a crush yet herself, so maybe that would save her the heartache later on. He wouldn't stand for it if Naruto did anything to hurt her, but it was hard to deny her such a happy smile. Few people outside the family were able to elicit a reaction like that in her.

Plus it was nice to see her (mostly) relaxed when talking to someone. Her confidence had improved a lot since his parents had allowed them to go to the academy on their own. The more her confidence grew the calmer she was around strangers. Even her training had gotten better. But for all she'd gained, there was still so much hesitation in her with people she didn't know or trust. Neji never saw that when she talked to Naruto, and he was always careful to watch when they were together, just in case. He _was_ her big brother, it was his prerogative to be over-protective.

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata's eyes lit up when she caught sight of Neji, and she burst from the tree swing with a grin as bright as the sun. He scooped her up into a short hug but quickly deposited her back down. He was a genin now; he was supposed to be more serious, at least while would-be teammates could still see him.

"You did it!" Hinata trilled.

"You say that as if you doubted it," he joked, readjusting his forehead protector and getting a swell of pride at the feel.

Hinata scrunched up her nose at him. "Of course not. I'm trying to congratulate you and you know it."

"You're too easy," Neji teased, and his eyes passed to the blond boy coming up behind his sister-cousin. He knew his parents had a strange issue with Naruto, but in all honesty Neji didn't understand it. Hinata could be naïve sometimes, but she knew how to identify a nasty personality when she saw it, and she obviously never did with him.

Still, a brother never fully liked anyone his sister fancied. It was just part of the course. So Neji leaned in and tapped his forehead protector, an arrogant little smirk taunting the younger boy. "Jealous?"

"We'll be getting ours next year, just you wait. Right, Hinata?" he said, though his blue gaze practically coveted the cool piece of metal.

Neji watched Hinata's smile waver for the briefest second. Not long enough for Naruto to see, but enough for Neji to catch the disappointment she refused to admit to. "You will, I'm sure, but I'm not allowed to be a genin."

"What!" Naruto yelled louder than Neji thought was necessarily appropriate.

He quirked his brow at his sister-cousin. "You never told him?"

"It never came up," she muttered unconvincingly. Neji had no doubt she was avoiding the fact. There was no way with their last year at the academy coming up becoming genin hadn't been discussed.

"Wait a minute," Naruto interrupted with all the skill and grace of a drunkard wielding a sledgehammer, "whadda you mean you aren't gonna be a genin?"

Hinata lowered her gaze to the dusty ground and shrugged. "Heir to the clan doesn't get to become a genin. It's considered too dangerous."

The disappointment she'd done so well to hide earlier now broke free and ruined her pretty smile. Neji reached out and brushed his fingers lightly against hers. Normally he didn't mind ignoring Hyuuga decorum in favor of cheering her up, but in front of Naruto the simple, understood message of that small touch would be enough to remind Hinata he was there for her. Her lips tweaked up for a moment in reply.

Compared to the subtle display between the sibling-cousins, Naruto's over-exaggerated slump was a flaming beacon of shock and crushed hopes. In a show of juvenile frustrations he kicked the barren dirt and sent a cloud of dust across to dirty Neji's sandals.

"For all the crap you can't do being an heir has to suck," he griped, though when he continued his voice had turned quieter. "I was kinda hoping we'd be on the same team."

The tiny squeak that popped from Hinata's throat when unnoticed by her sulking friend, but not Neji. Nor did the remarkable shade of red she was managing to turn. If he didn't know his sister-cousin better he might've been worried for her health. She couldn't have seeped dejection anymore if it were chakra billowing from her body and still that boy didn't realize a damn thing. Idiot.

Neji took Hinata by the shoulder and tugged her toward the street to save her from any attempt to speak. Neji knew her ability to articulate tended to be inversely proportionate to the redness of her face, and if she were any redder she'd look like a tomato with hair.

"Sorry, but that's life in the clan," he told Naruto as they walked. "And speaking of being the heir, we'd better head home before Dad sends someone out looking for you."

Hinata merely nodded with thanks in her flustered eyes. Neji winked a quick 'you're welcome' and let her wave goodbye to her friend before they started for the compound in silence. A part of him wanted to call her on what had happened, just for the enjoyment of finding out exactly how far past scarlet he could send her, but Neji couldn't bring himself to do it. Besides that tiny hint of confusion he saw in her that reminded him _she_ was still questioning her reactions to the boy, and he didn't want to ruin the experience for her. She had enough restrictions in her life, keeping a schoolgirl crush wouldn't hurt for now.

He raised his head infinitesimally higher as the compound came into view (maybe more than infinitesimally, but he deserved it). At the gate Osamu waved Isamu out from the other side to see the proud smirk blazing on Neji's face.

The twins had been tossed around a few different assignments in the clan before finally being settled as permanent gate guards over a year ago. At fifteen they were still two of the best readers in the clan, which was proven quite often since no one could screen incoming guests (or the clan) for intention as well as them. They sometimes complained of the monotony, but never seriously. They were just happy to be assigned together.

Osamu whistled a high catcall and winked at his little brother. "Looky at the expression on Neji's face."

"If his head were any bigger he'd float away with all that hot air in him," Isamu answered in time.

"You're just jealous you didn't graduate at the top of your class, Isamu," Neji jeered back and received a double glare in return.

The twins might hate it but both Neji and Hinata had successfully figured out how to tell them apart a couple years ago. As identical as they could make their facial expressions, Neji always saw a certain difference in Osamu's eyes. He wouldn't go so far as to call it commanding or serious (he didn't think it was possible for either of them to be truly serious), but it was something Neji identified with. He liked to think of it as part of the 'older brother' prerogative, and it wasn't something Osamu realized he did. How Hinata told them apart, she never told. She swore they'd find out from him if she revealed it. He never pressed the issue since she was probably right. Keeping his secret was one thing, keeping hers . . . well, the twins were still the best.

"Well, I suppose we should congratulate him, Otouto," Osamu bemoaned.

"Must we?" Isamu asked, waiting a good long pause for Neji's mouth to twitch in irritation before sighing so very over-dramatically. "All right, then."

The two took a deep breath, mirroring smirks on their faces, and burst at the top of their lungs, "Congratulations, Neji-_chan_!"

Neji's mouth twitched again, which only made the mischief in their eyes glow brighter. "Why am I Neji-chan again?"

"Someone's got to keep you humble," Isamu tisked, wagging his finger dangerously close to Neji's face. Neji was highly tempted to break it for good measure.

"Go on," Osamu said as he shoved Neji away from his younger brother's wriggling extremities before he decided to act on that alluring option, "Aunt Naomi's waiting with bated breath to hear how it went. Go and gloat to your parents, they'll appreciate it more."

Neji stashed his aggravation at the return of his childhood name safely in the back of his mind so it'd be ready the next time he sparred with them. They might be good readers, but he could still kick their butts in jyuuken, three years younger and all. When another chorus of 'Congratulations, Neji-chan!' followed them into the main house, Neji was certain of it; they'd pay for that later.

Naomi was rearranging the sitting cushions in the front room when they entered, proof enough she'd been waiting for them. His mother wasn't the kind of person to idle her time away. The pride that welled in her pale eyes at the sight of Konoha's symbol brandished across his forehead was too much and sent her hand up to unconsciously cover her gentle smile to hold back the emotion.

"So?" she asked when she'd composed herself again.

"First in the class," he answered and his head rose a little higher at the fact. There had never been a question of would he make genin, the only real question had been where in the class he would be. And he was right where he'd planned.

Now it was Naomi's turn to not be able to speak. She quickly wiped away the few stray tears that escaped her control before yanking Neji into a motherly-smothering embrace and kissing him on the top of his head.

"Mom!" he fussed, twisting out of her hold and smoothing his hair back down. "Why is everyone treating me like a kid again?" Beside him Hinata was giggling profusely at his flushed cheeks. Payback wasn't nearly as fun.

Naomi pinched the bridge of her nose between her hands and took a deep, calming breath in. "Because the older you get the more I wish you were my little boy again. I don't think I'm ready for you to be a genin, and next year Hinata comes home. Oh, you're both getting far too old."

"Don't worry, you're still young, Aunt Naomi," Hinata answered his mother's unsaid conclusion and earned a playful swat on the backside for it.

"You just go off and get your uncle," she laughed, shooing Hinata off down the hall. Naomi sighed as she watched Hinata disappear around the corner and once again when her bitter-sweet gaze returned to Neji. "I'm so proud of you, Neji."

"Thanks, Mom," he said and let his mother pull him into another smothering hug. At least no one was watching now.

He managed to detach himself –his mother had an amazingly strong grip– before Hinata returned with Hizashi in quick step behind her. His father wore a satisfied smile as he looked on Neji for the first time standing as an official shinobi of Konoha.

"Congratulations," was all he said. It was all he needed to say.

* * *

The room was the same as when he left the day before, yet today the atmosphere was completely different. It was quiet, but not the strained quiet of unease. This was excitement to a degree that couldn't be spoken. It was a string wound so tightly just one little turn would snap it. It was the moment everyone was waiting for and being so close made it feel forever away. When their teacher walked through that door it wouldn't be another lesson as a student. They were journeymen embarking on a lifelong adventure to become masters, and Neji was more than ready.

The silent hum of excitement stilled to dead air when the door opened and their teacher slowly crossed the classroom, a single slip of paper in his hand. With almost painstaking glee he rested the paper on the podium and took a dreadfully long time to admire each and every student in the class. Neji's hands opened and clenched in slow succession under his desk in order to keep himself calm and cool. Why couldn't their teacher just read the teams off already?

Neji's blank gaze passed over the others waiting, some obviously nervous, others brimming with so much excitement they couldn't sit still, and a few more keeping their emotions in check as well as him. Who would he be teamed with? This wasn't a little stint of teamwork, this was years of working together. These people would be as much as part of his life as his family. Being able to get along to some degree would be important (the twins' return to the compound was proof of that). And –though he wasn't one to fully believe it– some in the class viewed him as arrogant and looked on him with disdain. In class he could ignore them, but if he were teamed up with them . . . well, he'd deal with it, as annoying as it would be. He wasn't about to give up his entire career because of a couple idiots in class.

"Congratulations, again, to all of you on becoming genin," his teacher finally said to an almost collective inhale of nervous anticipation. "Remember though, this is a responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly or without due regard to yourself and your new teammates. Your lives will depend on each other and all of you need to hold that in your hearts."

_Yes, yes_, Neji thought,_ get on with it!_

"Now, before I read this list," –Neji rolled his eyes– "I have one last announcement to make. Though you passed the genin test, that alone does not entitle you to be genin."

That stopped Neji's frustrations in its tracks. What did he mean? They weren't genin? No one told him there was another test. (He was going to smack the twins upside their identical heads for this.)

His teacher continued on to the crowd of genin now more worried than excited, "The jounin instructors assigned to your team will be the final judge on your fitness to be genin, and it's not uncommon for much of the class to return to the academy at their instructor's determination. I hope you're all ready."

Neji relaxed back into his chair, a smug smirk playing on his lips. What chance was there of the number one rookie _not_ being deemed worthy of becoming a genin?

"Now," his teacher started again, "I'll be listing off your teams according to the jounin instructor you'll be assigned to. Once assigned please wait here until your instructor arrives to collect you."

Neji sat a little straighter now. This was it. He wished he'd be named in the first team just to get it over with.

"I'll be starting with the team assigned to Maito Gai." His teacher looked away and muttered something to himself too low to be heard halfway up the classroom where Neji sat. He might not have heard it, but the apprehension, or maybe trepidation, or perhaps solid, unyielding dread, was clear on his face.

A hand stuck in and waved through the cracked door and Neji's teacher glared at it. "No, I'm not saying that," he hissed quietly to the invading arm.

"Come on, where's your spirit?" cried the arm from the door.

If his teacher could curse any deeper in a single glance demons would've been summoned. "No."

With the arm's apparent request refused, it retreated to the safety of the hall. Neji wasn't sure, but –after linking the 'dread' he saw before with the exasperation now dragging down his teacher's body– he had a feeling that arm belong to this Maito Gai. Whoever got that man as an instructor was sure to be in for something interesting.

At the front of the room Neji's teacher let out a meek sigh of relief. "Now then, those assigned to Mai–"

The door burst open and a tall man in a green jumpsuit, green shinobi vest, with two furry creatures above his eyes, and a thick mop of black tar that was more helmet than hair leapt into the room like a singularity of impossible energy coalesced into the gruesome center of mystical life in physical form.

"KONOHA'S GREAT GREEN BEAST, MAITO GAI!" The man –green beast was a good name for him– struck one arm out with a thumbs up and smiled teeth so white Neji had to blink to make sure he saw it right; they actually shined in the light. "WELCOME TO THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUR YOUTH!"

Neji changed his mind. He didn't need to be in the first team. He was quite okay to be in a later team. Any team. Just not his. From the mercy of whatever god would listen to him, not _that_ team. Hyuugas were not keen on 'boisterous' people. Even the twins, for all the crap they got into, tended to keep the volume at a reasonable level. The last thing he wanted was years of whatever that man was.

Neji's teacher sighed again, but there was no longer any relief in it. Gai flashed his shining grin toward the podium, and this time Neji could have sworn he heard an audible 'Ping' when the light hit that glaring white monstrosity of a smile.

"So, which of these bright examples of youth will I be taking under my wing to mold into brilliant, _fiery_, _undefeatable_ _**ninjas full of VIGOR AND GUTS AND VIGOROUS GUTS!**_" Neji watched in horror as Gai went from the thumbs up to arms held high in triumph and –yes, Neji wasn't imagining it now– tears flowed freely down his cheeks. For the love of all things holy, Neji did _not! _want to be on that team.

"If you'd let me finish, I'll tell you," his teacher said, slowly massaging his temple to relieve what must have been the latest in a long line of headaches since earlier that morning. With his free hand he picked up the list from the podium. "The genin that will be _subject_ to Gai's tutelage will be," –Neji started silently praying– "Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji."

Damn_._

"What wonderfully youthful names!" Gai pronounced in a voice that echoed across the entire room like a thousand sunsets beaten into submission. "Now come! True men don't show hesitation! Let us BEGIN!"

Neji didn't want to stand up, and he definitely didn't want to go anywhere with Gai. And what did he mean 'youthful names'? Hyuuga was one of the oldest names in the village. His heart sank even further when he caught sight of the other two, who against Gai's own order were hesitantly standing and trudging their way down the steps. The girl, Tenten, he didn't know too much about personally. She seemed average in skill, not someone he'd worry too much about working with. But the other . . . Why did it have to be _him_? If there was anyone who _didn't_ belong as a genin it was Rock Lee. Neji was not about to let someone who couldn't even use basic ninjutsu be the reason _he_ didn't become a genin.

Revealing only an outward calm and detachment, Neji walked confidently to the door. No matter how much loathsome despair swirled inside him, he refused to let it show. The rest of the class all looked as if they'd just dodged a whole battalion of shuriken, while a few of the ones who'd always been jealous of Neji snickered as he passed. He'd let them laugh. This was just a small hurtle, he'd overcome it. Neither Maito Gai nor Rock Lee would be a lasting problem. Neji wouldn't let them.

Once in the hall Gai swept before them and flourished with enough excess of fancy even the twins would've gagged. "Follow me and begin your journey into manhood!" he shouted, then looking at Tenten, "And womanhood!"

Neji shook out his ears, feeling all together unnerved. Had he just heard waves crashing in the distance? Maito Gai just might drive him insane before he made chuunin.

Gai lead them not out of the academy as Neji's expected, but above it, to one of several annexes on the top floor that gave a quiet, private sitting area overlooking the village and the Hokage monument in the distance. It was actually a rather nice place. If only he had better company. Neji dropped down onto the crescent bench (silently glad Tenten chose the middle between him and Rock Lee) and avoided direct eye contact with his new instructor. He was already having auditory hallucinations thanks to Gai, no doubt if he looked him in the eyes Neji'd be trapped in a lifelong genjutsu never to be released again.

"Before we do anything else, we should get to know each other," Gai said, and for once he talked like a normal person and not a ninja hyped up on soldier pills and badly-written dramas. "Go ahead and tell me what your goals are. Neji, why don't you start?"

Neji groaned. "Do I have to?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to get to know his teammates, but what was there to say that they didn't already know about him. He was the top of his class and a Hyuuga. Anything more would just get into things he wasn't willing to deal with on the first meeting.

Gai looked underwhelmed. "Fine, we'll come back to Neji. How about–"

"Oh! I'll go!" Lee snapped to attention, arm in the air as if he were being drilled in class. He always seemed too enthusiastic in class considering his standing, but then enthusiasm was at least better than being last and _not_ wanting to improve. Lee's eyes (which were kind of weird and creepily round now that Neji was up close) sparkled with excitement. "I want to prove I can become a powerful ninja even though I can't use ninjutsu and genjutsu. That's my ultimate goal!"

The determination in him –as hidden as it was beneath over-confidence, too much enthusiasm, and the same small furry creatures that constituted eyebrows that Gai had (how did two people manage that?)– was so familiar Neji couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.

"What's so funny? I'm serious!" Lee screamed at him, and with it came the realization he had _two_ loud and boisterous people on his team. And if Neji had just kept quiet he wouldn't have to talk now.

"You reminded me of my sister is all," he replied, hoping –vainly– it would end there.

"Odd," Gai mused and for some reason stared into the air as he spoke, "your file said you're an only child."

"I thought you didn't know who we were before today," Neji commented flatly. He wasn't entirely sure why he was encouraging a conversation with this man yet. Morbid curiosity perhaps.

Gai flashed that ghastly bright smile at the three of them again. "Of course I knew who you were, but how could I deprive you of that glorious moment when you hear your name called out for the first time and discover that _this_ is your team!"

Neji rolled his eyes and felt a headache coming on. Now he knew how his teacher felt. What'd he do to deserve this?

"No worries, Neji, I'll just update your file–"

"No!" Neji snapped as much out of instinct as necessity and drawing in everyone's attention. He just had to open his big mouth. He really didn't wanted to get into this today. "Look, my sister's actually my cousin, but she's lived with us since her parents died years ago. But you can't call her my 'sister' in front of the clan or they'll have a conniption fit."

"Why would your clan care what you called her?" Tenten asked in voice so light and high pitched it almost chirped. (Two squawking seagulls and a songbird, just great.)

"She's main family, I'm branch," Neji explained. "Just trust me on this, when you hang out with any Hyuuga for a long enough time you'll learn there are just things that aren't done in the clan and that's one of them." And with that he shoved far enough into the seat to tell even the densest out-of-claner that the conversation was over.

In another miracle, Gai finally didn't seem to know how to turn that into another 'wonderful experience of life.' Just wait till they learned the rest of the clan's secrets . . . that is if he ever felt comfortable enough to tell them.

Apparently Gai wasn't content so out of his happy youth blitz and quickly changed subjects again. "All right then, Tenten, why don't you tell us your goal."

Tenten straightened up in her seat, but unlike Lee kept to a normal human's level of enthusiasm and volume. "My goal is to become a legendary kunoichi just like Tsunade-sama."

At least she had normal aspirations too, even if they were a bit lofty. It wasn't easy to reach 'legendary' status, but how many times had he heard kids at the academy say they wanted to be like this legendary person or that. So, he might have one person on his team who wouldn't give him a headache each time they talked. Small favors.

Finished with the others, Gai's furry gaze returned dead center on Neji and didn't appear ready to leave again anytime soon. "Come now, Neji, the others told you there goals. You must have _something_ you're working for. No one studies and works to be the number one rookie for no reason."

He could've lied, said it was tradition or duty or to make his father proud (though that last one was too sentimental even for him). But as much as he didn't want to go into things, he felt it would've been disrespectful –even to a crazy lunatic of an instructor– to not be honest when the others had. That's why he'd tried to stay silent.

Finally, after a long enough time to find the twitching rodents above Gai's eyes creepy, Neji relented. "I intend to be the sharpest sword and the strongest shield."

"What's that mean?" Lee asked, but this time Neji stayed quiet. He never said he was going to make it easy for them. His reasons were his own and if they ever understood it one day, well, they'd be closer to him than he could imagine at that moment.

Sensing the death of their conversation, Gai stole back control before it started rotting. "Since you all told me your goals, I'll tell you mine. My goal is to help all three of you become shinobi stronger than you even think you can be. I intend to succeed in my goal, and make sure you succeed in yours."

Neji'd felt many things since first seeing his new instructor –chagrin, horror, mortification– but when he wasn't expounding like an over-dramatic Noh actor and actually slowed down to speak seriously Neji almost found him . . . not inspiring, he wouldn't go that far, but somewhere between competent and inspiring. That was a good place for Gai. It made him more tolerable. Now if only he'd stay that way.

"What about the last test before we become genin that we were told about?" Neji asked, his blank gaze covertly flashing towards Lee. He still didn't like not being certain he was going remain genin.

Gai's hallucination-inducing smile returned (Neji still swore it was 'pinging'), and he turned to the side to pose in profile. There went the little of admiration Neji managed to find in him. When he began again, Gai's voice was dark, thick, and foreboded enough in one sentence to bring nightmares to life. "I have only one test for you."

"Wha– what kind of test?" Lee gulped, shrinking down in his seat.

The darkness billowed around Gai, drafting out to swirl about their feet. "It will take strength, endurance, and unwavering determination. If you're lucky, you may finish it before nightfall. It's also a matter of teamwork. If even one of you fails, none of you will be genin."

Neji straightened up and for the first time since they'd met him Gai had Neji's full attention. As crazy as he was, who knew what Gai could come up with. Beside him Tenten and Lee sat transfixed, the nervous anxiety veritably burning in the dark cloud climbing up their legs.

"Your task is," –the darkness choked the very air from their lungs– "three thousand laps around the village!"

Neji's head dropped faster than a punctured clone exploded. "You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

Shadows danced through the open windows when Neji finally slogged his way home. Fire scorched his legs in ways he didn't know his nerves could burn. He'd done plenty of lengthy training sessions before, but it was always a routine of various katas and spars that never focused on a single muscle group for more than a couple hours. Three thousand laps around the village ended up being ten hours of single-minded jogging that left Neji ready to sever his legs just so he wouldn't have to feel them anymore.

Lap 1,238 was nice. That's when his legs went numb for a couple laps before they realized he wasn't stopping and decided to punish him with sharp needle pricks every time he flexed or contracted any muscle. Neji himself probably could've finished an hour or so earlier, but he wasn't about to end before the rest only to find out one tripped and failed. So he relented and paced the others in case he needed to carry (or drag) one the last few laps. Now, he just wanted to go to bed.

He trudged over the threshold, ignoring the fact his sandals were still on in favor of not bending his knees any more than necessary until he flopped onto his futon to sleep. The house was oddly quiet. He'd expected his parents to wait up to hear who his instructor was and all about his team, but the only thing stirring through the empty halls was the cool night wind brushing the dark wood floors. Neji's feet screamed with indignation when he halted near the half-open door to the sitting room. He didn't want to stop anymore than his feet, but a hint of white made him pause.

The moonlight crossed the hall from an open window and, fading through the pale shoji paper, warmed the sleeping girl. Her lithe body was curled around a couple sitting cushions, mussing her dark hair across her slumber-white cheeks and pulling her night robe tight around her legs. The peacefulness of the scene made even Neji's aching body feel at ease. At least someone had tried to wait up for him.

Dragging his sore legs into the sitting room Neji, quite ungracefully, plopped onto the floor near the wall and gently rustled his sister-cousin awake. "Hey, Hinata."

"Niisan?" Hinata rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawed wide enough for Neji to see every tooth in her mouth. She rolled around to find him and forced her groggy body to crawl closer.

"Be careful Grandpa doesn't hear you call me that," he chuckled. "You'll get another lecture on inter-house etiquette."

She grumbled something unintelligible and curled up against his side the way she used to when they were younger. "How's your team?"

"My instructor is certifiable," he told her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she fell into a semi-doze in his embrace. "He made us run three thousand laps around the village. My legs now refuse to move."

Hinata attempted to laugh but it quickly turned into a yawn that spread like a virus to Neji. He settled his chin on the top of her head and let his eyes rest, just for a moment.

"Are you going back tomorrow?" she murmured with fading consciousness.

"Yeah."

"Are you going to be gone all day again?"

"I don't know."

A sound like a growl crossed with a whine escaped her sleep-laden throat. "I'll miss you."

The first honest smile of the day tempered all the exasperation and insanity he'd gone through. "I'll always be here for you. Your sword and your shield and a friendly ear when you need it." Neji caressed her arm and let the sound of her breath lull him to sleep. He really didn't need to get up anyway.

The moonlight watched them sleep in four white orbs peeking around the corner doorway. Hizashi slipped his hand over his wife's and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"The more things change," she chuckled.


	14. Dinner at the Hyuugas

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

I do hope everyone gets a laugh here. I couldn't resist.

* * *

Naomi hurried back from the kitchens for the fifth time that afternoon and was ready to rip her hair out or, better yet, someone else's. How hard was it to get across the idea of 'casual'? She didn't want proper place settings, she didn't want the nice dishware, and she definitely didn't want the usual dinner-guest menu where everything was prepared individually with enough flare to have their guests wishing they could steal the Hyuugas' cooks upon leaving. Not that she didn't want to impress her guests today, but she didn't want them to feel uncomfortable. The traditional atmosphere of the Hyuuga compound could be intimidating to out-of-claners, and she didn't want it to be an overload of propriety from start to finish. This was supposed to be a friendly meeting.

She fluttered into the sitting room to find Neji setting out extra cushions along the wall and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I thought I said I wanted some proper chairs and seating in here," Naomi huffed.

"You've got to calm down, Mom," Neji laughed. "They're not going to be upset if we don't have modern chairs. People think traditional when they hear Hyuuga."

"I just want your team to feel comfortable," she said.

"Mom, once you meet Gai you'll understand. We're never comfortable in our team."

Naomi snatched the cushion from his hands and thwacked him in the face with it. "You should show some more respect to your instructor."

"He doesn't make it easy," he muttered and earned another thump on the back. She returned the cushion and left him to finish up while her mind ran through what else needed to be done before his team and their families arrived.

Since Hiashi's death, living in the main house meant there were certain restrictions as to the allowance of visitors without escort. They all had to be introduced to the guards and staff so there was no misunderstanding should they show up without warning. So, Naomi decided the best way to accommodate the needs of the clan and provide them an opportunity to get to know Neji's new team was to invite them and their families over for dinner. She surely wasn't the only parent amongst them who was curious who their child was going to be working with. Of course it had taken longer than she'd expected to work out the logistics between all the families, but that simply gave the kids a few weeks to work the beginning kinks of their relationships out.

Naomi checked on Hizashi, who once again promised he'd be finished with his work by the time their guests arrived, and continued on to Hinata's study in search of her niece. They'd been having a few issues with Hinata since Neji got his team, but they'd expected as much. They tried to give her more attention so she wouldn't feel so lonely on the evenings Neji didn't return for dinner or in time for an evening spar. The twins came by more often to try and cheer her up too, but there was still some passive rebellion: coming late to meals or scheduled training; hiding away in her study or at the garden; or Naomi's least favorite, conveniently mishearing them.

Like today, when she'd told Hinata to go to the kitchens and ask them not to put out the formal dishware, which was what Naomi then had to fix when Hinata disappeared from the preparations. They were trying to be tolerant with her, but today was not the day for her passive-aggressive foolishness. Naomi just hoped she wasn't out at the garden. Their guests would be arriving soon and she didn't want Hinata covered in muck when they did.

A sliver of light escaped from a crack in the door to travel across the hall with the fall of the evening sun. That was a good sign. Naomi spied through the opening, not wanting to immediately call out her niece if she was in there. The soft smoke of sandalwood and saussurea incense wafted gently against her sense while a hint of cinnamon burned of spice in her nose. The scent alone was enough to warn Naomi to tread carefully with her niece. Hinata preferred floral notes in her incense; she only burned that flavor when she wanted to remember her father. Hiashi enjoyed sandalwood. Peeking through the crack, Naomi saw how Hinata leaned into the billowing gray haze as if it were her father's warm embrace drifting around her body.

Atop the cedar desk waited a stone mortar and pestle, which had finally been restored to constant use in the last couple years, and a dirty, worn scroll – both inherited from her mother. Thanks to her grandmother's careful tutelage, Hinata was quite proficient in making Atsuko's signature salves and balms and even learned a few basic healing techniques for minor cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, between the academy, her jyuuken training, and her sporadic lessons with Hyobe, Hinata had limited time available to seriously devote to learning medical jutsu. She had the control necessary, according to Yumi's observation, and there was little doubt that once she came home the following year she'd probably take up the study more seriously, if nothing else than to be closer to her mother.

Seeing Hiashi's incense _and_ Atsuko's scroll told Naomi that this was more than Hinata's normal passive resistance to the changes happening. This was something deeper. Naomi rattled the door before opening it to give Hinata warning, but her niece barely raised her gaze in notice.

"Hinata, shouldn't you be getting ready to help greet our guests?" she asked.

Hinata picked up the mortar and pestle and pulled it into her lap. From her place, Naomi could see the mortar was empty, and with no herbs on her desk the item was less about use at the moment as comfort.

Naomi closed the door behind her and sat down across the desk from Hinata. "You want to tell me what's going on? Don't you want to meet Neji's team?"

Hinata shrugged and started grinding the pestle down in a steady scratch, scratch, scratch of stone against stone. It was enough for most to see the avoidance in her, but Naomi knew she avoided the most the closer to the truth it was.

"Why don't you want to meet Neji's team?" Naomi asked, leaning back in the chair to let Hinata know she wasn't going to take silence for an answer.

Hinata shrugged again and snatched up the scroll to hide her face from Naomi. It wasn't fast enough to cover the flash of bitter sorrow desperately clawing to the surface, but not the emotion Naomi expected to see. Suddenly the last few weeks made much more sense.

"Hinata, it's all right to be a little jealous, but you know it's not the same as your parents, right? Neji's not leaving you forever and his team's not stealing him away. You're both just growing up and living your own lives." When Hinata remained silent, Naomi stood and came around to kneel beside her niece. She gently took the scroll and the mortar and pestle from Hinata and set them on the desk. "Hinata, this is just a part of growing up. It's a little sad now, but it'll get better. And Neji'll always be there when you need him, even if he's not around as much anymore. You're father and Uncle Hizashi went through the same thing, I'm sure."

"But they ended up barely talking after they grew up," she mumbled. "Why can't things just stay like they were?"

Naomi turned the chair and forced Hinata to look at her. "Listen to me, Hinata. The problems between your father and Uncle Hizashi weren't just because they grew apart. A lot of it was because of the issues between the houses, and we've done everything we could to make sure you and Neji weren't raised like that. So I don't want you thinking that's going to happen. You understand?"

Hinata nodded.

"Good," Naomi said, standing up and urging Hinata up with her. "Now, we're going to go greet our guests with a smile, even if you don't really want to. Something you're going to have to learn to do as clan head is be able to smile and sit down with people you might not want to be with. It's called being political."

Hinata groaned, which elicited an amused snort from Naomi. "Your uncle hates it, too."

Naomi ushered the young girl ahead of her and followed her through the winding halls to the front courtyard where Neji was already waiting on the front porch with byakugan active. "Tenten and her parents have arrived," he informed them as Hinata stepped up next to him. "Lee and his mother are a ways down the road still. I haven't found Gai yet, but he may be trying to 'make an entrance' so be prepared for anything."

Naomi whacked him on the shoulder hard enough to make him rub it. "What'd I say about showing your instructor proper respect?"

Neji rolled his eyes. "Fine, but remember that when you meet Gai-_sensei_." He earned another thump on the shoulder for his snark.

In the distance Osamu led three slightly nervous out-of-claners their way. The girl was petite, clean and trimmed in attire, and had her hair dressed in two buns that made her rather cute. Despite the blossoming femininity of her age, Naomi saw enough stubbornness in her eyes that said she wasn't about to simply roll over for anyone, which pleased Naomi. That was going to be a necessity with Neji, no doubt. The two walking behind Tenten were easily recognizable as her parents. She shared her father's facial features –same narrow nose and high cheekbones– and her mother's dark eyes, hair, and her slender frame.

Osamu, or at least the one she assumed was Osamu from the part of his hair –she wasn't as talented in identifying them as her children–, stopped just short of the porch and offered them all a short bow. "Your guests, Aunt Naomi."

"Thank you, Osamu. Two more are nearby, so hurry back and show them here when they arrive."

A cocky grin spread across the teenager's face. "Sure thing, Aunt Naomi. I'll tell Aniki to do that."

Naomi glowered slightly through her snide smirk and shooed Isamu off. Those boys, if they could live one day seriously the world would surely collapse in on itself. Still, it was sad to see their talents wasted on something as simple as guard duty. That just pushed her harder to make sure Hinata was able to let go of her accustomed dependence on Neji, though. She wasn't allowed to squander her life just to have what she wanted.

All negativity melting from her face, Naomi stepped down from the porch to properly greet her guests with a shallow bow, which all three returned. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet all of you. I'm Naomi, Neji's mother. My husband, Hizashi, will be joining us shortly."

"Thank you for having us," Tenten's mother said in a rather high voice odd for a woman her age. "I'm Etsuko and this is my husband, Saburo, and of course our Tenten."

Tenten politely sided away from the adults to joined Neji and Hinata. "You must be Hinata," she said in a voice that matched her mother's. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Hinata was comfortable enough to speak up yet; Tenten only received a quizzical stare in return.

"Neji talks about you," Tenten offered again and produced a pale tint to Hinata's normally ashen cheeks. That girl was so easily embarrassed it was scary to think she'd be clan head one day. One flirting comment and she'd be rendered mute.

Not today though. In a small voice that belied the confidence Naomi knew she could show, Hinata answered back, "Nice to meet you," and if that was a lie for appearance sake it was better than Hinata had ever managed (and Naomi wasn't certain she was able to lie at all when she was embarrassed). Perhaps the dinner would be beneficial for her as well.

"Tenten," Etsuko called, "why don't you give them our gifts."

"Oh, you didn't need to bring anything," Naomi said.

"Nonsense," Etsuko dismissed with a wave of her hand. Then, leaning in, she whispered, "Besides, if I don't give them away as gifts Saburo just keeps collecting them."

From her back pocket, Tenten produced two pieces of plain, beige cloth wrapping rolled tight. She carefully unraveled one and displayed a set of freshly made and still shining kunai.

"One for Neji-kun and one for Hinata-chan," Etsuko explained. "Saburo always had quite a knack for smithing, which was fine when he was on full active duty and using them. Now he makes them and just fills up the house. I have another set for Lee-kun, too."

"If Tenten accepted how good she is with weapons she could start taking them out with her," Saburo defended.

Tenten rolled her eyes at her father as she handed over the two sets of kunai to the others. "Dad, it would take wagons to get rid of all the weapons you have in the house, not to mention the shed."

Saburo slumped down melodramatically. "Just admit you don't want to learn anything from your father now that he's an old man. Tis the fate of all fathers when their little girls grow up and leave them."

"Dad!"

Naomi and Tenten's parents turned away from the kids to allow them a slight reprieve while they waited for the rest to arrive. "It really was kind of you to have us over," Etsuko said again. "I have to admit I'm curious to get to know Tenten's teammates after all she's told me. And Gai."

Naomi laughed. "Especially Gai."

"Definitely Gai," Saburo echoed. "The way Tenten talks about him it's like he's this phantasm of unpredictability that's haunting her."

"That's about what I've been hearing, too," Naomi chuckled. "Neji was less than impressed after that first day."

"He actually called him the anti-Hyuuga," a welcome voice interrupted from behind her. Hizashi stepped off the porch and offered their guests a short bow. "Forgive me for not meeting you when you arrived. I'm Neji's father, Hizashi." Etsuko and Saburo returned the greeting and introduced themselves in turn.

"It looks like I arrived in time to meet our next guests though," Hizashi said, looking between Tenten's parents to Osamu leading a boy with short black hair and strikingly large eyes and a woman of slight frame. If Naomi didn't know Lee was coming with his mother she'd have easily confused this woman with an older sister. Besides being hardly an inch taller than her son, her lean body, long black hair, and bright pink kimono with orange and red flowers embroidered in such arduous detail that _Naomi_ felt underdressed made Lee's mother display youth more than maternal presence. It didn't help that Lee carried a small bundle of flowers; they looked ready to go on a date.

"Welcome," Naomi called as Etsuko and Saburo stepped aside to allow Naomi and Hizashi their place as hosts. "I'm glad you were able to make it. I'm Naomi and this is my husband, Hizashi. These are Tenten's parents, Etsuko-san and Saburo-san."

They all exchanged polite bows and Lee's mother motioned for him to offer the flowers to Naomi, which she thanked him for. "It was nice of you to host this for us. My name's Miki, and, of course, my son, Lee," she answered in a surprisingly mature sounding voice. Had Etsuko's voice come from Miki's body then all the women would have been in the proper balance.

"I'm sorry my husband couldn't make it," she continued, looking at the couples around her a bit awkwardly. "Unfortunately, he won't be back for at least another few weeks and it didn't seem right to put this off any longer."

"Long term missions can be rough," Saburo agreed, but Miki waved a delicate hand in dismissal.

"Nothing so exciting, I'm afraid. We're tailors by trade," she explained, making a wide curtsy to show off the kimono which was doubtlessly her own work. "Lee here's the first one of the family to be a ninja. Honestly, we weren't sure about letting him try, but he was bound and determined to become one, and we couldn't deny him when he was willing to work so hard. I don't know where he gets his determination from."

"I got it from you, of course," Lee beamed proudly, "After all, you're the one who spent twelve hours straight yesterday finishing the embroidery on your kimono. I'd just rather become a great ninja than sew clothes."

"Lee, a seamstress's secrets are her own," Miki scolded with a smile and enough embarrassment to make her face match her kimono.

"Well," Naomi said to take the attention off Lee's flustered mother, "while we wait for Gai to arrive why don't you meet your son's teammates. Would you like to introduce them, Lee-kun?"

"Sure," Lee bounced back from his mother's discontent (or he didn't notice it) and jumped aside to stand with the kids. "Mom, this is Tenten and Neji and," –his thick brows scrunched together as he worked through the previously unnoticed girl standing partially behind Neji– "Ah! You must be Neji's sis–OWWW!"

Lee hopped up and down on one leg, the other wrapped tight against his chest, as Neji's foot returned from the spot of empty air that had once occupied Lee's shin. Before either Hizashi or Naomi could yell at their son, Lee was in his face, eyes enflamed. "What was that for? I've been training. I'll take any challenge!"

Tenten snatched a hand over Lee's mouth from behind and yanked him away from Neji, who looked as mildly bored with the whole encounter as he could fake. (Naomi still noted how his eyes focused on the ground instead of one of them; he knew they caught that slip up.) Tenten whispered something in Lee's ear and recognition filled the struggling boy's face.

"Ohh-eaah! Ah orat ahou aat!" Lee muffled out from behind Tenten's hand, which she quickly removed and, with a rather disgusted look on her face, wiped off on her pants. Freed, Lee looked back at Neji and away again. "Sorry," he muttered sourly.

Well, Naomi could see that their team dynamic was already taking hold. An exasperated chuckle passed from one adult to another till it hit a dead end at the horror-struck expression on Miki's face. Civilians often didn't understand the way teams worked.

"Don't worry, Miki-san, that's pretty normal for a new genin team," Saburo offered as gentle advice. "I remember doing worse than that with Hikaru, and he became my best friend."

"Really?" she asked as her hand fluttered over her chest. "I thought my heart was going to stop just now."

"Fear not! Every ninja needs a rival!"

Everyone looked around but the source of the new voice was nowhere to be seen. The only thing out of the ordinary was the sigh Neji and Tenten let out in unison.

Suddenly a burst of chakra exploded in the center of the semi-circle the parents formed and forced them all to take a step back as smoke billowed up into the wind. When the haze cleared, a man in a green jumpsuit and teeth sparkling in the sun stood _posing_ with his arm out in a thumbs-up atop a turtle wearing a red polka dot scarf. Naomi could barely believe it; Neji _hadn't_ been exaggerating.

With everyone's befuddled attention squarely on him, Gai turned his glistening grin on Miki. "Don't worry, your son has found his lifelong rival, a truly honorable pact many ninjas enter into and only by having this eternal challenge forever before them will they grow to be _**great and powerful ninjas of legend!**_"

A quick glance at Neji, who was rubbing his temple in meditative concentration, told Naomi that Neji wasn't as thrilled to be included in this rivalry as Lee, who appeared to be almost as fired up as Gai.

"Are you done yet, Gai?" the polka dot clad turtle complained from below, and Gai quickly jumped off its back.

"Thank you for your assistance!" he bellowed.

The turtle groaned in reply, "The things you talk me into," and poofed away.

Gai returned to the semi-circle of parents with a flourish (and Naomi was silently dreading the day the twins met this man for any duration of time). "Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am the guardian of your children's future. I shall be their teacher, mentor, and their closest confidant. I'm the GREAT GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA, MAITO GAI! And," –he leaned in to wink at Miki– "the personal rival of the genius copy ninja, Kakashi."

It was a testament to Hyuuga control that the only thing that passed between Hizashi and Naomi was a mild smirk, especially considering beside them Etsuko was covertly swatting at her husband's arm and hissing a near-silent "Stop it!" before he could burst into –what would surely be by the strain on his face– hysterical laughter. Only Miki seemed in control, but she definitely wasn't unaffected.

"My, Lee never told me his instructor was so charming," Miki whispered coyly, carefully adjusting the collar of her bright pink kimono, "or handsome. I always did love a man with strong eyebrows." Saburo's snort turned to coughing fast enough to go unnoticed by the infatuated woman, that or she simply no longer paid attention to the rest of the group.

Gai continued on relatively unaware of the woman's hidden intrigue but posed for the compliment nonetheless. "I attempt to be the true meaning of a man in all aspects of my life, and it's my goal to teach your son the same. And as a _true man_ should always assist those around him, and you are the only one here alone, _I feel it is my_ _duty!_ to escort you inside."

"How gracious of you," she answered, slipping her arm around his proffered one. Her smitten gaze never left him.

"On that note," Naomi said, letting out a long breath to keep the amusement inside, "why don't we all go in."

Neji pulled Hinata up in front of them as Tenten and Lee slipped back in step with their respective parents. He flashed them a very 'I told you so' look before hurrying ahead to lead the way. Naomi had to admit, she wouldn't doubt anything Neji told her about his team after this meeting.

"You know, Gai-san, perhaps you'd be good enough to come by one night and explain all about the ninja world to me," Miki said in a nightengale voice behind them. "Say for dinner at our house."

"Then we could go for training afterwards!" Lee burst in approval.

"Hush, Lee," she scolded, "the adults are talking."

Naomi was very glad to be ahead (and therefore out of sight –facially at least–) of the others. There was no way she could stop the snickering. It was probably a good thing Lee's father was out of the village. Though, given Miki's youthful appearance they actually made a rather cute, albeit height-challenged, couple.

Miki was commenting on how green was a very manly color when they entered the front sitting room. One convenient thing about traditional furniture was its versatility. Simply by adding in a large low-table the sitting room became a comfortable –if more formal than Naomi had wanted– dining room. Set out on either end of the long table were two tall skillets full of a semi-brown stock boiling away thanks to portable burners. On both sides and between the two skillets were three large plates of ingredients –carrots, mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, negi onion, and thinly sliced beef– all waiting to be swished and simmered in the flavored stock. It wasn't as easy with a larger group, but Naomi felt nothing broke down awkward silences quite like a good nabe dish like shabu shabu.

"Please take a seat wherever you like," Naomi instructed pleasantly, placing a hand on Neji and Hinata's shoulders to hold them at bay while the others entered. It would be rude for them to sit before their guests.

Tenten's family quickly took the far seats on the left side, while Gai was sequestered at the end of the table with Miki and Lee on either side of him. If he only realized how odd it made the three of them look (Lee did resemble Gai to an uncommon degree), he might not have been so comfortable there. With the rest seated, Naomi and the children took the final seats next to Lee with Hizashi, of course, heading up the other end of the table.

"I've got to admit, Naomi-san," Saburo started, eyeing the spread eagerly, "when I heard dinner with Hyuugas I had pretty high expectations, but you've still managed to exceed them."

"It does help to be acting head of the clan," Hizashi admitted, "but please, go ahead and start eating."

"Acting head?" Etsuko asked as she gladly picked up the chopsticks resting on her plate and snatched up the piece of beef her husband was going for. A smirk teased Saburo as she gently trailed the meat through the boiling broth.

"Hizashi's only clan head until Hinata comes of age. She's the actual heir to the clan," Naomi explained and quickly shifted the subject before too much clan issues could be brought up. "Tell me, do neither of you have any other children?"

"None but my lovely little girl," Saburo cooed malevolently, yanking Tenten into a smothering one-armed hug she couldn't get free of.

"As if we have room for anymore," Etsuko joked. "Tenten's old nursery currently houses six tanto swords, a couple dozen bo staffs, three yari spears, two boxes of kunai, four kama daggers, one naginata, and how many senbon, Tenten?"

"Three-hundred and forty-seven," Tenten said as she shoved her father's arm away again.

Saburo stared at them both incredulously. "How do you two even know that?"

"Mom had me inventory the whole house while you were gone one weekend," Tenten answered as she stole her father's beef right from the hot pot.

Saburo looked between the two women beside him then settled a serious expression on the two boys across the table. "Remember this, boys, if you ever have a daughter she'll grow up and conspire with your wife against you. It _will_ happen." As if to punctuate his point both Tenten and her mother couldn't stop laughing, though Saburo joined in at the end.

"Yours is almost old enough," he warned Hizashi.

"I think I'm safe," Hizashi chuckled. "As nice as my niece is, I think I'd be okay if she learned to conspire a little."

_Niece_. To the others it probably meant nothing, but Naomi wished they didn't have to force such a distinction each time an outsider made an offhand comment. If one brancher heard wrong though, just one misinterpreted rumor could end up hurting Hinata with the clan or them with Hyobe. She pulled Hinata into a sidelong hug even if the girl next to her saw little more than necessity in that one little word.

"What about you, Miki-san? Never wanted another?" Naomi asked before anyone capable of seeing it noticed the conflict in her eyes.

"We thought about it here and there," she admitted, "but then with my luck I'd end up with another as crazy as my Lee and then I'd be worried sick about two children out in the ninja world." She rested her chin in her hand and gazed admiringly up at Gai. "And I'm sure it wouldn't have had so talented an instructor as Lee is blessed with."

"Of course it would have," Gai beamed proudly, "all the jounin instructors are full of youth and vigor and the determination to support and train these young minds and bodies into amazing shinobi!"

Naomi was beginning to feel sorry for Miki's absent husband. He was either going to have one hell of a rival for her attention when he got home, or –for better or for worse– a green jumpsuit and one _really_ excited welcome home. She also had to wonder if Gai truly was that ambivalent to Miki's affection. He didn't show any deception in his manner, but, _please_, the only way that woman could be any more obvious was if she knocked him upside the head and dragged him back to her house.

"What about you, Gai-san? No one waiting in the wings for you to return home?" Etsuko asked with quite a sinister sparkle in her eyes; beside her Miki's breath caught short.

Gai lowered his head behind his arm in contrite resignation. "Unfortunately my youthful visage has yet to enflame the passions of a woman of equal vitality and enthusiasm with whom I will one day match in a lifelong battle of love and commitment and those unavoidable misunderstanding that lead to temporary heartache but eventual reunion that all comes with matrimonial bliss!" Gai bolted from his seat and stood, posing with one foot on the edge of the table and his fisted arm before him, exuding such a raw aura the very air seemed to turn to a brilliant orange sunset behind him. "But I know one day such a fine woman will be wooed and won by my furious determination!"

"Mmm, if I weren't married," Miki murmured, devouring Gai's muscle-trained physique in unabashed delight.

Naomi was beginning to understand the level of endurance Neji'd suffered under these last few weeks. Even Hizashi was struggling not to burst out laughing right there at the table. Gai alone was going to make this an interesting team. Heaven forbid any of the others be as extravagant as him.

"_So_," Naomi drawled out, giving Gai time to sit back down, "if the boys are now rivals apparently, who's yours, Tenten-chan?"

"I'll leave the rivalries to Lee and Neji," she answered. "I just want to be like the legendary Tsunade-sama."

"Are you planning on training as a med-nin, then?" Naomi asked.

Tenten grimaced through her grin and dropped a carrot into the broth to avoid answering right away. "It doesn't appear I'm very apt at medical jutsu," she admitted quietly.

"But the sashimi was delicious," Neji added with a smirk in his voice.

"Ha. Ha. I'd like to see you try and revive a dead fish," she quipped back. "Bet you wouldn't be so good at it either."

"That's why I leave the healing to Hinata. She's not too bad at the basics." Neji wrapped an arm around her shoulder to pull her close momentarily, causing a pale pink to paint her cheeks puffed up over a shy smile.

"And what about you, Lee-kun?" Hizashi asked. "Besides being locked in an _eternal rivalry_ with my son, what made you want to be a ninja so much?"

"I've always wanted to be a great ninja!" he shouted, not so much answering the question as affirming it. "I may not be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu and my taijutsu isn't that great, but I'm going to prove with hard work one day even I'll be powerful enough to defeat a genius like Neji!"

Neji's posture stiffened immediately, but so quickly and with such a hasty recovery if Naomi hadn't been looking past him to see Lee she'd have missed it. He chuckled quietly, but, having witnessed the shirking unease that had hit him like a spike in the back, Naomi detected the force he used to push that small sound out so nonchalantly. "I keep telling Lee to stop comparing us, but he won't listen," Neji said. With conscious precision in each flex and contraction of muscle, he plucked a cube of tofu from the serving plate and swished it gently in the boiling broth.

"You just don't think I can do it!" Lee challenged and hopped up on his knees so he could stare down his rival.

"I _know_," Neji returned calmly, "that natural ability and hard work produce different results. I'm sure you can become a great ninja, but you shouldn't keep comparing yourself to what I'll be."

Lee burst to his feet and towered over Neji, his hands shaking at his sides as he screamed, "Enough hard work can beat anything, even you!"

Neji snapped to attention and matched stature with stature. In his eyes was an anger Naomi hadn't expected to see. "No," he seethed, "hard work will only take you so far. Natural ability is different."

Neji and Lee faced off with such fury sparks were palatable in the air around them just waiting for the final trigger to set off the explosion that would ultimately destroy the entire sitting area they were dining in no doubt. Before Naomi or Hizashi could admonish Neji, and if necessary forcibly drag him back to his seat, a feather-light touch settled on his hand and defused all the fire smoldering inside.

"It's all right, Neji-niisan," Hinata whispered in the same shy voice she'd spoken to Tenten with earlier in the evening. "You shouldn't ruin dinner with a fight."

Neji gazed down at his cousin. The protective instinct struggling to remain in control under the surface façade explained the anger to Naomi better than any words, and a sick feeling swirled in her stomach. Neji had only been repeating what they'd always told Hinata to keep Hyobe's disparaging remarks from biting too deeply into her often fragile self-esteem. Regrettably, no amount of reading her son told Naomi if Neji was just trying to protect Hinata or if he truly believed it himself. Finally, he let out a long sigh and sat down, relenting more submissively to Hinata's quiet request than he would have to their sharp command.

"You too, Lee. This is not the time or place for such things," Miki snapped and Lee immediately dropped out of his fury trance to sit obediently beside Neji.

"Ah," Gai sighed whimsically, "the joys of youthful rivals."

* * *

Neji and Hinata walked a few feet behind his parents on the way back to the house after seeing their guests to the compound gate. The dinner hadn't gone as badly as he'd feared. Gai in the compound was frightening enough, though he had to admit it was pretty damn funny to see Lee's mother swooning all over him. Lee's father must have amazing eyebrows if _that's_ what she was so attracted to. It might explain a few things about Lee, too.

If only they hadn't brought up the whole work versus talent debate again. Neji was sick enough of it in the team, but he hadn't wanted Lee to bring it up in front of Hinata. Lee can be as delusional as he wanted to, but to feed Hinata those lies wasn't something he was going to allow. Believing it would only make her feel more miserable when she couldn't achieve it and feed into their grandfather's demeaning rhetoric. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have reminded Lee just what kind of difference talent made.

Unfortunately, it did rather spoil the rest of the dinner. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but it wasn't quite as light hearted as it began, no matter what Gai thought of 'youthful rivalries.' Neji hadn't meant for that and surely would be scolded for it once they were back home.

"I'm sorry," Hinata whispered almost too quietly for him to hear standing right next to her.

Neji eyed her curiously and slowed so the distance grew between his parents and them. "For what?"

"I ruined your dinner," she squeaked out, her eyes cast to the ground guiltily.

"Why do you think that?" he asked. Hinata had a bad habit of blaming herself for things, but this time he wasn't following her train of thought at all.

"You and Lee-kun got into a fight because of me," she whispered.

Neji laughed and ruffled her hair the way the twins used to when they were younger. "Don't even think that was your fault. Stopping me and Lee from fighting is like stopping Gai from being 'youthful'. Besides, there's a big difference in getting into a fight _because_ of you and getting into a fight _for_ you, and I'll always be willing to fight for my little sister."

Hinata looked away in a fast growing blush as she smoothed down her fluffed hair. "Do you think he'll be able to do it?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"What he said he would," she clarified, "be able to beat you one day."

Neji just shook his head. "Look, Hinata, I don't doubt he'll become a good ninja someday, but there's only so much hard work can take you. He should focus on what he _can_ do instead of comparing himself to me. Just like you should focus on improving yourself and not worry about what Grandpa thinks you _should_ be. You'll be great in your own way, you don't need to be like me. How useful would _I_ be if you were?"

Hinata shrugged. "Not much I guess."

"Exactly," he agreed. "And if you ever need to be that strong for some reason, all you need to do is ask and I'll be there to take care of whatever it is. Once you're clan head I'll be your right hand to command."

"I know," she replied, but her voice betrayed the hesitation she felt, or perhaps the hope he wished he wouldn't hear. "I was just thinking Naruto-kun always says we can do whatever we want to if we try hard enough. I guess Lee-kun made me think of it."

"Then put your mind to being the best clan head the Hyuugas have seen in generations. That's what you're going to be great at, I know it. You leave the fighting to me."

"All right," she answered, though Neji could see she wasn't wholly convinced.

Lee was definitely going to pay for that the next time they trained together.


	15. Heartache

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

"Hinata! Hinata! Wait up!"

A hand grabbed her arm and Hinata staggered to keep her balance as Naruto skidded to a stop using her as a pivoting point. The whole room seemed to keep spinning a few moments more even though she could feel the wall beneath her hand stabilizing her.

"Naruto-kun?" she called a little woozy.

"Hey, Hinata, I got a favor to ask ya."

Hinata blinked a few times to make the spinning stop, then a few more to keep her head from doing too many cartwheels at how close his face was to hers or the way his hand remained curled tightly over her fingers. She never understood it, but the way he looked at her, staring so intensely with those strange blue eyes, she could never catch her breath. He didn't look at her the way the Hyuugas did, scrutinizing and detecting each movement and glace to see try to see what she was thinking. Yet, somehow, she always felt like he saw her just as deeply. Maybe even something more than the Hyuugas saw –her true self– reflected back in those clear blue eyes.

Since she no longer walked to and from the academy with Neji, the only real thing she looked forward to was seeing Naruto. Classes were getting uncomfortable, with all the emphasis on the genin exam at the end of the year. The more everyone else got excited about it, the less Hinata wanted to be there. She hated the nasty feeling that swirled inside her when she thought about having to return to the compound when everyone else got to go off and experience adventures outside the confines of the village. But since Iruka didn't seem to care that she and Naruto were friends anymore, it was easier for them to talk during their free time. Naruto just made the days so much better. She was going to miss the chance to see him every day once he became a genin.

Naruto leaned in so no one in the busy hall could overhear. "Hinata, can you find out what Sakura-chan likes for me?"

"Sa–sakura-chan?" she stuttered back. For some reason her voice didn't want to leave her throat.

"Yeah, you're a girl so you can talk to her and find out what she likes, right? Please, for me."

Hinata's whole body felt as if it were teetering on a precipice and behind her the torrent raged closer and closer. "Yo–you like Sa–saku–ra-chan?"

Naruto scratched his nose and looked away embarrassed. "Well, sorta."

And the torrent pushed her off. She was falling, and as the inevitable ground rushed at her a moment of calm spread throughout her body. She forced her numb face to move and smiled. "Sure."

"Really, Hinata," Naruto burst, throwing his arms around her in a huge hug. "Thanks, you're the best."

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, the pain choked all the joy she'd ever felt in seeing his smiling face away into a feeling that threatened to break her in two. "I have to get home!" Hinata cried and ran out of his hold before he could see the tears in her eyes. She ran with all her might, until her legs burned and screamed enough to dull the pain tearing her heart to shreds so small she didn't believe it could beat again.

_Just get home_, she repeated over and over, wiping the endless tears from her eyes only to have them cloud with new sobs. The world had never been so alien to her, so frightening. She just wanted to be alone, before anyone –everyone– hurt her again. Somewhere safe, where no one could be taken from her or abandon her or betray her.

The walls of the compound came into her fogged sight and cry of despair burst from her abused lungs. Two identical faces, brimming with worry the closer she ran, watched her from the gate. She didn't want them to see her, to read through her tears the truth burning inside so fiercely she couldn't hold it in. She didn't want their pity.

Hinata bolted for the wall even as Isamu ran to meet her in the street, and she vaulted over with sheer panic strengthening her. Behind her she could hear them calling for her, but she didn't look back. She just ran and ran and kept running until the only solace she felt in the sorrow-dipped world was before her. Hinata dropped to her knees in front of the small garden, lush and green and ready for the late summer harvest, and wept with her whole body. If only she could have melted into the ground beneath her and been forgotten forever. Anything had to be better than feeling this pain.

"Hinata," her aunt's soft voice plied cautiously behind her. Hinata curled tighter into herself, wishing she could disappear, anything to keep people from seeing her so weak.

"I've got her," Naomi called to someone else and Hinata heard footsteps reluctantly retreat. Slowly, as if she'd spook her, Naomi knelt beside her and pulled Hinata into her embrace. Hinata hadn't wanted anyone, she'd wanted to be alone, but once in the mothering arms of her aunt, Hinata clung to her with all her might and wept unabashed into her chest.

"It's all right, Hinata. I'm here for you," Naomi whispered, gently smoothing back her hair in maternal affection. "Just tell me what happened."

"He asked me to find out what she liked!" The words burst from her mouth before she even knew how much she wanted to say it. She hadn't wanted anyone to know, but Naomi's arms were a place of safety as surely as the garden was. A mother's unconditional acceptance and love that could coax even the deepest secret forward with a single, gentle word.

"Oh, Hinata," Naomi cooed, slowly rocking Hinata back and forth to comfort her.

"I thought he saw me," she cried, "Why'd he pick her? He doesn't know her or talk to her. I'm his friend, so why'd he pick her? I thought . . . the way he looked at me . . . I . . ." The sobs choked off her voice and left her bawling into Naomi's now wet kimono.

"I know it hurts, Hinata," she whispered. "You go ahead and cry until there's no more tears to cry. There's not a person in the world who doesn't have the right to cry when their heart gets broken."

Hinata struggled to shove her cries down enough to talk. "Wh–why wasn't I . . . good enough?"

"Now you listen to me," Naomi snapped, not with malice, but enough intensity to shock back Hinata's sobbing momentarily as she looked up at her aunt. "You are every bit good enough, and if he doesn't see that then that's his fault and his loss, because you're so worthy of being loved. Don't you ever forget that, no matter what happens. Understand?"

Hinata's mouth quivered and tears fell freely down her raw face, but she nodded. Naomi wiped her flushed cheeks with her thumb and kissed Hinata atop her head.

"I know it hurts now, Hinata, and don't think you don't have the right to feel that hurt. Cry through it as much as you need to, but know it will get better." She rested Hinata's head against her chest and just held her.

"How?" Hinata coughed out. It didn't feel like any balm in existence would heal the pain consuming her.

"First loves are the sweetest when you have it, and the bitterest when it ends," Naomi answered. "But when there's no more tears to be cried and you take a deep breath, you'll find it's a little easier than before. And when you see him tomorrow you might need to cry all over again, but as time passes it _will_ be easier. Everyone has a first love, and we all survive the heartache of them, too. I survived mine, and trust me I cried as much as you are when it was gone."

Hinata gazed up at her aunt, tears still escaping though the hysteria had calmed some. "You did?"

Naomi nodded. "He was an out-of-claner I knew from the academy. He had the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen, like hollyhock in spring. He was on your uncle's genin team, and he and your uncle and me and my best friend were together all the time. I was in love with him for years before I got up the courage to ask him out."

"What happened?" Hinata asked, sniffing back the fading cries still trying to sneak out.

"He told me he hung out with me because he wanted to go out with my best friend, not me." Naomi let out a deep sigh and a sweet melancholy washed over her eyes. "I cried for days after that, and each time my mother held me just like this and told me the same thing I'm telling you. It does get better, you just have to let yourself go through it and eventually the other side will appear. That and your uncle beat him so badly in training the next day it sent him to the hospital."

Hinata laughed despite the slowing tears. "Uncle Hizashi?"

"Oh yes," Naomi chuckled. "I also found out from that experience that your uncle had quite the crush on me. It took a long time to get over it, but eventually your uncle won me over. And though he'll never admit it, he's still jealous about it all. You never fully get over any love, but you learn to let them go."

Hinata settled back into Naomi's embrace and felt her body sink into an exhaustion worse than any training could produce. Her stomach ached, her chest burned, and her face was raw against the cool cotton of Naomi's kimono. Even so, she closed her eyes and let the gentle sway of her aunt's body console her.

"It still hurts," she whispered, the tears coming back to wet her red cheeks.

Naomi rubbed her arm and kissed her head again. "I know, Hinata. I know."

* * *

Hinata didn't want to go back to the academy the next morning. She'd begged Naomi to let her stay home, but her aunt refused. Naomi said she needed to go and face it. Hinata didn't want to face it. She blanched at the very idea of seeing Naruto, him expecting her to talk to Sakura on his behalf. She wasn't even sure she was capable of making it through the day without bursting into tears, let alone talk to Sakura. She didn't want to see any of them.

The academy came into slow view as she slugged her way down the road to the red-roofed building. What was the point of her being there anymore? She wasn't going to be a genin, Neji wasn't there, and now to talk to Naruto was to have a kunai twist inside her chest. So what was the point?

Hinata stopped in front of the academy courtyard and stared at the planked roof and white walls and the symbol of Kohoha painted proudly above the entrance.

What _was_ the point?

She turned away and kept walking. Away from the academy and the pain and the futile instruction that would lead her nowhere.

There was no point anymore.


	16. Promises Made

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

The days seemed to be getting longer and longer, but Neji knew they'd be worth it in the end. The missions were menial and it might be a while before any serious assignments were sent their way, but he reminded himself every new genin had to go through the same thing. Even Gai, who, though Neji loathed to admit it, _was_ showing a growing competence the longer he trained with him. The beating he'd received at Gai's hands in training a few days before confirmed that. Proof that he still had a lot to learn, and –yes– Gai might even be capable of teaching him.

Today though they managed to get away early and Neji knew where to head to. He'd wanted to come by for the last few weeks, but he'd never been free early enough to be there when class let out. It was bad enough when the twins told him how upset Hinata'd been that first day, but the way she begged his mother the next morning . . . he'd wanted to come by and beat the Uzumaki boy that day. But with Gai's training and the missions, Neji never got the chance. And now that Hinata was doing a bit better, she probably wouldn't be as open to him beating the living daylights out of the boy who broke her heart. That didn't mean he couldn't attempt to inspire a little fear in the boy, though. Besides, it'd been over a month since he'd gotten a chance to spend some real time with Hinata, and it felt strange to him to so often see and yet miss his little sister. He wouldn't say they weren't as close as they used to be, but something had changed.

Neji stopped and perched on a branch on the edge of the tree line just outside the academy. It was far enough to not get caught in the crowd that exploded from the front door at the end of the school day, but in view of the windows to Hinata's class. Just in case the Uzumaki boy should look outside Neji wanted to be properly sinister in his sight. Classes would let out in a couple minutes, so he took the chance to peek in on the classroom with byakugan – just to see how Hinata was doing being in the same room with _him_.

Iruka stood lecturing at the front of class while most of the students appeared idly bored with the proceedings. Neji found the Uzumaki boy sleeping near the center of the class, a line a drool staining the table beneath. Neji's fists clenched and opened in slow repetition. There was something to be said for the satisfaction out-of-clan taijutsu could produce; the feel of solid muscle and bone tearing and cracking under his hands. Sometimes jyuuken was simply too gentle. He left his more murderous thoughts to fancy and continued his gaze up the classroom until . . .

She wasn't there? Neji checked again, looking at each face carefully as if his sight had momentarily failed him. But no, she wasn't there. How was that possible? Did something happen? Was she hurt and sent home? A split-second of panic stuck him in the gut, but he hastily shoved it back down. There was no need to worry until he knew what had happened.

Dropping down from tree, Neji hurried into the academy before the classes let out and quietly waited for the end of class. When the first student headed out, Neji pushed his way in and headed –calmly– to Iruka, still standing at the podium at the front of class.

"Iruka-sensei," Neji called respectfully, trying his best not to let on how unnerved he felt to Hinata's absence, "I came by to take Hinata home. Where is she?"

"I'd love to know that myself," Iruka answered with an exasperated sigh.

The twinge of panic clawed its way back into his gut and firmly took residence against his permission. "What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"I mean I'd intended to come by your parents' and ask them that question myself," he explained, leaning one arm against the podium dejectedly. "The first time she was gone a few days I took her at her word that she was sick. Hinata had never been a problem in class and I'd never had her lie to me, but she's barely come to class more than a few days in the last three weeks. I can only assume she's intentionally skipping at this point."

"That's not like Hinata at all," Neji defended. Hinata wouldn't . . . she just wouldn't.

Iruka shook his head and unconsciously ran a finger over the scar on the bridge of his nose. "Well, I'm afraid I have no other choice but to talk to your parents about it. Obviously something's going on with her, and I don't think it'd be good to ignore it."

"Can you wait, please?" Neji pleaded. "Just one day. If she doesn't come tomorrow, then go right ahead and talk to my parents, but please let me talk to her first. She's been dealing with a lot lately. Just give me a chance to convince her to come back before you tell my parents. She'll listen to me."

Iruka frowned, looking less than impressed at Neji's request. Reluctantly, he nodded. "All right, but just one day, and only because I've never had an issue with her before. But if she skips one more time I'll be going to your parents."

"Thank you," Neji replied with genuine gratitude in his voice. He knew his parents should be told something like this, but if he did that then word would eventually get back to their grandfather and Neji would avoid that at all costs. Especially since he had no idea _why_ Hinata wasn't coming to class.

He bowed to Iruka and hurried out of the academy as fast as he could through the throng. Once out of the mob, Neji leapt into the trees again and activated byakugan. She had to be somewhere in the village; she wasn't foolish enough to leave the village walls by herself, but that still left a lot of ground to search. He started at the village gate and systematically searched from there to his position and back again in search of his missing sister.

He was halfway through the village –and already kneaded enough chakra into the branch he stood on to rot it from the inside out– when he finally located Hinata working out in a training ground on the southeast corner of the village. The rotted branch fell to the ground as Neji bolted off. While he maintained the dual watch of 'where he was' versus 'what he saw with byakugan', Neji's attention was solely on Hinata. He'd been able to read his sister for years, but in her eyes wasn't guilt or satisfaction –what most who skipped out of class might feel– only exhaustion. She looked tired. Not physically; mentally tired. Neji didn't know what to make of that.

When he was close, Neji dropped to the ground and moved silently to the clearing that made up the training grounds. Hinata's byakugan wasn't active so he wasn't at risk of being discovered early and having her flee. Neji wanted to catch her in the act and find out _exactly_ what was going on in that head of hers. He leaned against a tree behind her and called out in a cool, detached voice, "Interesting seeing you here, Hinata."

Neji watched her shoulders stiffen at the initial sound of his voice, but calm after a deep breath in. He was expecting guilt at being caught, but her body was relaxed. Not the stance of someone who knew they were caught disobeying. Without looking back at him, Hinata resumed her kata. "I came to practice after class ended," she lied, shocking Neji even further. Hinata had never lied to him before.

"Funny," he continued, pushing off the tree to slowly tread his way to where she stood, "I was just at the academy and you weren't there. In fact, your teacher said you hadn't been there for quite a while.

Hinata simply shrugged, still refusing to turn to face him. "I'm not learning anything useful there. Better to spend my time on what I actually need to know, right Neji-niisan? I should just focus on what I'll need, instead of things I can't change."

The bite from his words parroted back at him stung worse than the lies. He didn't say that to stop her from doing her best. He'd never mean them in that way and she knew it. Didn't she? Without being able to see her face he couldn't be certain. All he had to read was the overly calm motion of the jyuuken kata which she moved through with the supple grace of a leaf on the water.

"Hinata," he called firmly, "tell me the truth. What's going on?"

"I told you, I'm not learning anything useful. There's no reason for me to go to the academy anymore," she repeated.

"The reason is Mom and Dad trust that when you leave in the morning you're going to the academy. Do you want them to find out you've been lying to them? Do you want to have an escort everywhere again because they can't trust you?" Hinata just shrugged at his questions. She didn't seem to care at all, and that simply wasn't the Hinata he knew.

He stopped a few feet from her, enough to stay out of range of her kata, but close enough to touch her if he reached. His voice softened as he broached a question that up to then he'd left only to his mother. "Is it because of Naruto? Do you not want to go because of him?"

"N–no," she snapped, but her once graceful kata turned to awkward jerks at the mention of the Uzumaki boy's name.

Neji grabbed her hand and pulled her close so she was forced to stand still in front of him. Even so she wouldn't look at him. Her head threatened to twist completely around as far as she strained it away.

"Hinata, you shouldn't be running away from this. Hiding here isn't going to make you feel better."

"I'm not running away," she retorted, twisting in his grip

Neji yanked her arms down to hold her firm and thickened his voice into a command. "Look at me then. Prove you're not running away from me right now. Tell me what's going on, because I know you're stronger than this. Naruto's a part of it, but not everything. Look at me and tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want to!" she screamed, her eyes meeting his for the briefest second, but it was enough for Neji. He let go of her arms, too shocked by what he saw to hold his resolve, and Hinata quickly turned her back to him once more.

"I didn't realize you felt that way," he said quietly as she settled herself.

Neji knew she missed him –he missed her as well– but he'd never imagine he'd see loneliness like that in her eyes. Loneliness and bitterness and anger and hurt all trapped in one solitary feeling: abandonment. She thought he'd abandoned her. Far more than any of the hurt he'd seen when Naruto came up; he, _Neji_, was the one she was running from. So he wouldn't see how angry she was at him for leaving her, because beneath that abandonment was a paralyzing fear. The fear that everything she felt was true.

"Hinata . . ." He took her hand, tenderly this time, and held it without any beckons to face him. "Hinata, I will never abandon you. I don't care what happens to us, I don't care if one day we end up hating each other, no matter what, I'll _never_ abandon you. I wish I could make you understand that everything I'm doing is so I can make sure no one ever hurts you."

Hinata's fingers closer around his, but her body remained firmly away, refusing to let him near. The distance wounded him deeper than any punch Gai could throw at him. Neji closed his eyes and sighed.

"I haven't done a very good job of being your brother lately though, have I?" he asked more to himself than to her. "I'm gone a lot, and when I'm home I haven't made an effort to spar with you or anything. And when someone hurt you I told myself I was too busy, that Mom would help you better, that you didn't need me. How long has it been since I've talked to you like this? It's no wonder you feel like I abandoned you."

Neji tugged her around ever so softly so she could stop and resist if she wanted to. Tucking a finger under her chin, he urged her to look up at him. The anger was gone from her gaze and in its place was the same insecure girl he'd grown up protecting, and maybe it was a little bit his fault then that she still stared at him wanting to be protected.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me, and I'm sorry it took this long for me to see what was happening. But Hinata, you can't keep doing this. You should've told me before it got this bad, and you have to face going back to the academy. Running away isn't an option for you. You're better than that."

"But–"

Neji stopped her before she could interrupt any further. "If you valued yourself even a fraction of what I value you, you'd realize you've always been strong enough to do this. You just refuse to believe it. Part of that's Grandpa's fault, part's my fault I think, but at some point you have to believe it yourself. If you did then you'd see what I do, and I know for a fact my eyes are some of the best in the clan."

The corners of her lips threatened to turn into a smile, but she held it steady. Neji took that as a good sign.

"I'll make you a deal, Hinata. You go back to the academy –no more skipping or lying or acting out– and, besides not telling on you to Mom and Dad, in two weeks if you've done that I _swear_ that you and I will do whatever you want for the entire night after you get out of class. I'll take you out for dinner, we'll spar or talk or whatever you want. Just you and me, no team, no clan, nothing. _And_ I promise to make time for you at least once a week from now on."

"Really?" she asked, finally looking up at him on her own. All the bite that had filled her voice when she'd yelled earlier disappeared and a sweet hope turned it loving again.

"Promise," he repeated.

Hinata's arms flew around his neck like a welcome home, and Neji smiled as she clung to him. Of course he'd missed the time he used to have with Hinata, but he'd forgotten that while his world was expanding, hers was getting smaller and smaller. Soon she'd lose the academy too; he wondered if a part of her wasn't trying to prepare herself for that, too.

Gently, Neji detached his little sister from him, and forced his face as serious as he could make it without being harsh. "I mean it. You miss one class and Mom and Dad find out." Iruka would make sure of that.

Hinata nodded, a smile brighter than he'd seen on her in the last few months blazing across her face. That was the girl he was working so hard for. That was the one he wanted to protect. Neji kept a hand on her shoulder and headed toward the village. "Come on, Hinata. I'll walk you home."

* * *

"_Neji. Neji. Neji. Neji. Neji. Neji. .._"

Neji's eyes reluctantly fluttered open. A sleep haze clouded the waking world in strange blurs of black and tan colors. He blinked a couple times to let the black fog settle into the solid shapes of two massive eyebrows twitching mere centimeters from his face and scrambled out of his covers faster than lightning in a storm. He clenched his chest just to make sure his heart wasn't actually bursting through his skin. That was like waking up to cockroaches crawling all over him.

Bent over his futon –complete with 'pinging' smile–, Gai chuckled. "Perhaps we need to work on your awareness, Neji."

Awareness be damned. Who's expecting two rodents permanently glued to a person's face to be their wake up call? In their own bed! Neji took a moment to look out the window and calm down. The sun had yet to rise and not even the first rays of daybreak were filtering into the darkened, cloud-covered sky. He was beginning to wish Gai didn't have unrestricted access to the main house. At least then someone else would be waking Neji up instead of _that_.

"Was that really necessary?" Neji asked when the shock subsided and proper indignation filled its place.

"Well, I wanted to wake you with a proud exclamation of the wonders of a pre-dawn morning rising!" Gai whispered with the same enthusiasm as he did at mid-day and not what had to be about four in the morning by Neji's internal clock. "But that would have woken the whole household so I refrained."

Oh lucky Neji.

"Hurry now," Gai said, returning to the open window he must have snuck into Neji's room by, "we have a mission already and you need to be well-prepared for it. Meet me at the village gate in fifteen minutes."

"What is it?" Neji asked before Gai could somehow shove his massive body through Neji's moderate-sized window.

Gai threw out his 'Nice Guy' pose, which once again made Neji believe that Gai was either addicted to soldier pills or ran off batteries to be that chipper in the morning. "It's a surprise," he said and disappeared through the window, leaving Neji to sit and wonder how the hell he managed to get stuck with Maito Gai as an instructor.

With a deep, long, and very, very, very resigned sigh, Neji got off the floor and started packing for anything. It must have been some kind of test, he decided, to make sure they were prepared for the unexpected. Because _Gai_ thought that far ahead, yeah right. He probably just wanted to make a show of it for some reason and knew he couldn't in their homes at –Neji looked at his clock– 3:47 in the morning.

At least he'd be back in time to go get Hinata still or, at the worst, be a little late. She'd kept her word and went to class after their talk, so it was his turn to keep his side of the bargain. Their talk did a lot more than just send her back to the academy, though. She genuinely seemed to be doing better, happier even. And heaven forbid if every single person in the main house didn't know Neji was taking her out that night. She was bound and determined to make sure no one ruined it. But if that's all it took to keep her from falling into another funk, Neji'd give it to her.

All packed up, Neji slipped out of his room. He'd wanted to be quiet, but a piece of the shoji paper must have been broken because it crinkled as the door open. Neji checked the halls but it didn't look like anyone was awake yet to notice. Hurrying out of the compound, he waved to the two guards designated for night duty. Whenever he left before the twin's watch began he knew it was too early.

The silent village was almost eerie to run through. The houses were dark and the only sounds were the stray cats roaming the alleyways for dinner in the previous night's garbage. The clouds above kept any starlight from escaping and an ill wind transformed Neji's hair into a snake striking the empty air. If the weather kept up this way, sparring was probably going to be nixed that night, which was too bad. Tenten had showed Neji an interesting trick to increase accuracy in his throwing method and he'd wanted to teach it to Hinata.

Speaking of Tenten, Neji chuckled as he came into view of the village gates. Tenten stood with her eyes closed and chin dropped to her chest, slowly rocking against the wind. Apparently he wasn't the only one who felt it was too early for conscious thought.

Tenten was the only blessing in his team. Gai was liable to send him to the asylum one day with all his antics, and Lee grated his nerves with all the constant 'challenging' and talk of rivals. Not to mention Lee was beginning to pick up a lot of Gai's less than likeable quirks. Tenten was a tiny oasis of sanity and common sense, _and_ she knew how to talk without screaming every two seconds.

"Hey," he called.

"I'm awake!" Tenten cried, her eyes not quite opening when she looked at him.

"Don't worry, it's just me," he assured her and laughed again when her chin returned to its former position. He didn't mind too much; he wasn't in a talkative mood anyway.

Neji's own head was beginning to bob up and down when an ear-splitting, nerve-testing, 'want to kill the person who screamed it' "YO!" woke every living thing in a fifty feet radius. Lee really was getting as bad as Gai. Beside him, Tenten's head darted here and there in shock at the rude awakening.

"Lee, was that reall–" Neji stopped mid-sentence as he caught site of the third member of his team. He groped for Tenten's arm, not daring to look away from the impossible image running their way. "Tenten, I think I've finally gone mad."

He felt her come up beside him and gasp. "Dear God, they've shrunk Gai-sensei."

Lee stopped a few feet in front of them and flashed Gai's signature 'Nice Guy' pose complete with the strange gleam in his teeth. His once unruly hair was now helmeted down into the same sleek bowl-cut as Gai, and Lee's traditional training clothes had been replaced with a one-piece green monstrosity. "Hello team! Isn't it a gloriously youthful day for a mission?"

Tenten leaned in close. "Should we run?"

"I think it's too late," Neji answered, and a collective shudder ran up their spines.

Lee dropped his pose and pulled at the chest of his jumpsuit. "How do you like it? My mom made it for me. She said I looked handsome." Lee's mother would say that. Neji had a feeling if she didn't have a crush on Gai, the son of two tailors would never have been let out of the house in something like that.

A nervous grin strained Tenten's face as she looked at Lee. "It's . . . nice. You look just like Gai-sensei."

"I know! Isn't it great!" Lee whooped into the air, and a dark, cold dread coagulated in the pit of Neji's stomach. Had Gai's energy been magically infused into all green jumpsuits? It was official, the gods hated him.

Gai poofed in behind Lee, his hand lifting his chin as a smug smile burned across his face. "Nice, Lee. I can see the youthful energy overflowing from you like waterfalls."

Neji slowly massaged his temples and repeated in the back of his mind, _My sensei is not an idiot. My sensei is not an idiot. My sensei is not a _complete_ idiot._ It was easy to forget if he didn't remind himself at least once a day.

"So, Gai-sensei, what's the surprise?" Lee yelled as he bounced around punching away at invisible opponents. "Are you going to teach us super-forbidden techniques that will obliterate all our enemies?"

"Better," Gai replied. Now Neji was interested, when Gai got serious he was formidable, so what was better than, as Lee put it, 'super-forbidden techniques'? Gai's smile turned to smirk as he waited for all three pairs of eyes to focus on him.

"Congratulations!" he bellowed, sweeping out his arms in a way Neji was certain actually amplified his voice. "You've been assigned your first C-rank mission!"

That wasn't exactly better than 'super-forbidden techniques' in Neji's opinion, but not even he could be wholly disappointed by Gai's inability to properly account for what's exciting. C-rank meant less menial work and more danger. Real work, no more working on farms or chasing down lost dogs. Once you broke into C-rank it could only get better. Beside him Tenten was fully awake and rocking back onto her heels excitedly.

"So what's the mission?" she chirped.

"We'll be eliminating several packs of wild boar that have been terrorizing farmland," Gai explained. "It's not enemy ninja, but you'd better be careful of those tusks unless you want to get skewered."

So they were still working with animals. Oh well, C-rank was C-rank. He could celebrate that with Hinata when he got back tonight.

Gai thrust his fist into the air. "Yosh! Let's go! I proclaim if we don't get there by nightfall everyone's doing five hundred laps around the town!"

_Nightfall_. Neji's whole body froze with that one word. "By nightfall? We're not getting back today?"

"A ninja must be prepared for anything, Neji. If you've forgotten something you'll have to improvise," Gai answered smugly.

"That's not it!" he yelled. "Don't you think we should've told out families we won't be back?" If Gai had told him before, Neji would've woken Hinata up and rescheduled. She was already having abandonment issues; the last thing he wanted was to not come when he'd promised.

Gai threw out his 'Nice Guy' pose once more –Neji really hated that pose– and waited for his grin to 'ping'. "Not to worry, Neji. I left word for your families. Now let's go! The town is a day and a half away but I know we can make it by nightfall!"

"Or five hundred laps!" Lee agreed.

Neji looked back toward the compound not at all feeling comforted by Gai's assurances. Hinata would understand he couldn't control mission assignments. He just hoped she'd forgive him for not being the one to tell her.


	17. Promises Broken

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As a treat, I went and found some old pictures that another friend, Zirio (http: / / zirio. deviantart .com/), drew of the twins. So if you've ever wondered what they look like exactly, here's a little taste. Twins laughing (http: / / img. photobucket. com / albums /v87 /Sessy-sama/ IsamuandOsamutrouble .jpg) Twins Serious (http: / / img. photobucket. com / albums /v87 /Sessy-sama/ IsamuandOsamuseriouspsd .jpg) Remove the spaces to go to the link. Fanfiction refused to let me hyperlink or even paste the full link without spaces.

* * *

The air was muggy, the sky was dreary, and the sun whole-heartedly refused to shine, but no little weather problem was enough to wipe off the joy blazing across Hinata's face like an out-of-control fire jutsu. She ran through the halls, nearly tripping over her own feet as she turned the corner, and plopped down in front of the breakfast table as if there was more than just a little cushion to soften the fall. Rice shoveled into her mouth faster than she could breathe, and Hinata had to grab her milk to help it along.

"Slow down," Naomi laughed. "If you choke and kill yourself now you'll never get to go out with Neji tonight."

Hinata beat her chest as a particularly large clump of food refused to go down her esophagus. "I'll be okay. Did Neji-niisan already go? He wasn't in his room."

"According to the guards on duty last night, Gai made an early morning break-in and stole him while we slept," Hizashi answered from behind her. He leaned down to give Naomi a chaste peck on the cheek before taking his seat at the end of the table.

"He's still coming tonight, isn't he?" Hinata asked, her voice hitching higher at the thought.

"And suffer your wrath after all the fuss you've been putting up over it," Hizashi joked. "I think even he'd be scared of that."

A fair blush colored her cheeks and she hurried to finish her breakfast to avoid looking at her aunt and uncle any more. Neji'd kept his word and not told them about her skipping class, so they didn't understand what it really meant for Neji to be spending time with her that day. To be able to be the way they were before everything started to change. It was hard to look forward to future when everything she loved about the past seemed to be slipping away. But if Neji was trying to stay with her, even if it was only once a week, then she wasn't really losing him. Not like her parents who never came back. If she could just hold on to that one thing, Hinata knew she'd be able to handle the rest of the changes. She just needed _something_ to stay the same.

Wolfing down the last of her rice, Hinata burst up and said goodbye to her aunt and uncle.

"The academy won't start just because you get there early," Naomi called after her, but Hinata didn't care. The sooner she got to the academy the sooner classes would end and then it would be just her and Neji.

Unfortunately the day couldn't have gone slower if Iruka turned the clock back to the start of day – twice. It didn't help they were reviewing genjutsu for the genin exam. If only they were learning new things instead of constantly reviewing for the genin exam, then maybe this last year wouldn't be so useless. But she promised Neji no more bad behavior, so she listened attentively and did whatever Iruka told her to.

Still when the last class was over and Iruka released them, Hinata was out of her seat and running through the halls before most of the other classrooms opened. She threw the main doors out to the thick, humid air and searched the schoolyard for her brother in the fading light of the cloud-strewn afternoon. There was no one there. A swell of disappointment filled her stomach and subdued her excitement, just a little. Neji had warned her he might be a late depending on what Gai had in store for him, but she'd hoped he would be there waiting for her. Behind her the sounds of stampeding students freed of their pens echoed through the halls, so Hinata headed over to the swing on the far end of the yard to wait for Neji.

Hinata rocked back and forth on the swing. The edge of her sandals dug into the ground to keep the arch low and slow as she watched the back of all those kids who were heading home or out with their friends. She didn't care about the ones leaving, she was searching –impatiently– for the one approaching. As the minutes passed, her gentle sway turned to rigid twisting and sharp kicks back. Neji was late.

"Hinata," a familiar voice shouted behind her and she stopped swinging to find the source. Naruto bounded her way, a smile as bright as his blond hair and as ignorant to what it did to her as he was.

Naomi had been right to a certain extent. Once Hinata faced Naruto everyday it was easier to accept the hurt and start to let it go. Not that his goofy grin offered so unconditionally still didn't make her heart leap and break all at the same time, but she understood she could feel the bad without it ruining the good. Hinata just wished the hurt would fade faster.

"Hey Naruto," she called back and was proud at how much steadier her voice was than two weeks before.

He stopped in front of the swing and teetered back on his heels the way he always did when he didn't want to stand still. "Hey, you're not going back home right away today?"

Hinata shook her head, a smile threatening to out shine Naruto's blazoned across her face. "Neji-niisan's promised to come by spend the whole evening with me. He's just running late with his team, probably."

A twinge of jealousy scrunched Naruto's face, but he quickly brushed it away. It had taken Hinata a long time to figure out that's what those little quirks and fidgets were; he hid the truth better than any other emotion.

"Hey, Hinata," he started, shirking off the negativity like a dirty jacket, "I know you don't like it when I pry into the compound and stuff, but is everything all right?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, surprised by the question.

"Well, it's just you were sick all that time and then since you got back you're always running home right after class." Naruto scratched the back of his blond hair and looked away. "I don't get things all the time, but I was worried something happened at the compound. I mean, since you're not gonna be a genin, this is the last year we can really hang out, but you're hardly ever here anymore."

A part of Hinata wished he wouldn't talk about her like that, but that got overwhelmingly squashed down far, far, far below the quiet joy at knowing he was worried about her, even if only as a friend. Naomi was right, she'd never fully get over Naruto. Still, she couldn't exactly explain the truth to him, so she kept her soft smile unfazed and shook her head.

"Nothing too bad," she lied. "Some things happened, but it's okay now. I'm better."

"Good! If you ever need help, just come to me," Naruto declared with unchecked enthusiasm. "What kind of future Hokage would I be if I didn't help my friends?"

"What kind of future Hokage can't do a proper clone jutsu?" Iruka demanded from behind Naruto.

Naruto spun around and shoved a finger in his face. "The Hokage doesn't need a silly clone jutsu!"

"He does if he wants to be a genin first," Iruka said, swatting away Naruto's hand.

"Then I'll skip being genin and just be Hokage!" Naruto cried.

Iruka shook his head. "If you put half as much effort into paying attention in class as you did proclaiming you're going to be Hokage maybe you'd actually know how to do a clone jutsu by now."

"Clone jutsu is stupid," Naruto grumbled back.

Iruka chuckled and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Why don't you tell me all about how you're going to be Hokage without knowing the clone jutsu over ramen?"

Naruto's eyes lit up immediately. "You're buying?"

"Yeah, I'll buy." Iruka looked to Hinata, who'd been more than entertained watching the playful argument. "How about you, Hinata? Care to join us?"

"No thanks, Neji-niisan's coming as soon as he's done with his team," she answered. Even if Neji wasn't coming, Hinata would have refused. Besides the fact she was still wish-washy over how well she could handle being with Naruto, she wouldn't intrude on them. Iruka had been paying extra attention to Naruto lately, she'd noticed, and Naruto loved it more than he let on. It was a little like how she knew she must look with Neji.

"Well, don't stay out here too long, it looks like it's going to rain soon," Iruka warned.

With a friendly nod from him and an over-excited good-bye from Naruto, Hinata was left alone in the emptying schoolyard.

She swung idly back and forth, letting her feet drag across the dusty ground on each slow pass. The chill in the wind grew stronger as ominous clouds of black and grey blocked out the afternoon sun until more shadows danced across the ground than light. The branches above her thrashed and beat against each other until she had to dig her heels in to keep the swing from spinning in the harrowing gale. Dust flooded the open air, long since abandoned by the quick-footed students and teachers, but still Hinata waited. Neji had promised, so he'd surely come, and with the storm threatening to break at any moment then he must be on his way. She'd wait, because he'd be there soon. She'd wait, because he promised and Neji never broke a promise to her.

Hinata's hands were already shivering over the rope supports from cold when the first drop of rain wet her cheek. She wiped it away even as the blackened sky above overflowed and muddied the vacant path leading to the village. She could barely see a few feet in front of her through the deluge, but still she watched. She watched and waited, because Neji wouldn't break his promise. He was on his way, she knew it. She just had to wait for him.

She didn't know how long she sat there in the unforgiving storm. She didn't care, not when through her clouded vision a figure appeared on the path running toward her. It was shadowed and hazy, but Hinata knew who it was. A smile filled her rain-soaked face and she ran to meet him. She knew he'd come. Neji would never break his promise, no matter what happened. Neji would–

"Hinata, what're you doing here still?" Naruto's voice shattered the pounding of the storm and stopped Hinata so fast her sandals sunk up to her toes in the mud.

She was so sure. Why was it Naruto standing in front of her, his blond hair sticking to his face like tear-stained streaks on his skin? Why was he staring at her with such a worried expression marring his usually jubilant demeanor? Why hadn't it been Neji?

"Hinata," he repeated, grabbing her arm to force her to look at him, "Hinata, why're you out here in the rain?"

"Neji-niisan's coming," she answered.

Water dripped into Naruto's open mouth as he gaped at her. "Have you been here since school let out?"

"Neji-niisan's coming," she said again, more firmly than before. What was so hard to understand about that?

"If he ain't here by now, he ain't coming," Naruto gritted and pulled her toward the road. "Come on, you can't stay in the rain like this."

"No!" Hinata cried, yanking out of his grip and backing away. "Neji-niisan promised he'd come, so he's coming."

"He ain't coming, Hinata." Naruto tried to grab her arm again but she jumped out of his reach. Every nerve of her shaking body felt alive as she blinked the rain away to clear her sight and watch him.

"Neji-niisan _is_ coming. I'm going to wait for Neji-niisan," she swore, wiping the salty rain from her trembling lips.

"Hinata–"

"I'm waiting for Neji-niisan!" she shouted before he said anything more. When she retreated from him again, Naruto disappeared back into the rain.

Naruto didn't understand. He couldn't. Neji promised to come. Neji never broke his promise to her. Hinata returned to the swing and sat down. The rain washed the mud from her feet only to splash it up again.

He'd never broken his promise to her . . . before.

* * *

Isamu stuck his hand out and the pressure of the downpour made his skin tingle. On days like that the fifteen-year-old chuunin was especially glad the Hyuuga compound splurged for all the best amenities of life, like a covered guard station, even if they'd forgotten seats in the design.

"Shame it rained on Hinata-sama's big day out with Neji," Osamu commented as he leaned back against the gate wall, safely out of splashing distance.

"I doubt it ruined anything, not with the stink she was making about it," Isamu chuckled.

"True." Osamu shifted so he could better see down the road. "Still, it's about time Neji noticed."

"Yeah, or we'd have to do something about it," Isamu agreed.

"And then _we'd_ be the ones visiting Yumi-san afterwards."

"Well, you would," Isamu said smugly.

Osamu laughed. "Oh, you think you're so much better than our boy genius?"

"No," Isamu smirked, "but while he's beating the crap out of you I'll come up on his blind spot and bludgeon him before he can hit me. And a win for me is a win for both of us."

Osamu snorted. "Nice, Otouto, except for that whole getting the crap beat out of me."

Isamu shrugged. "We'll switch the next time Neji needs to learn a lesson."

"By which time he'll have learned not to leave his blind spot unwatched and somehow I'll still get hurt."

"Sucks to be you, Aniki," Isamu said too seriously to be taken serious.

"I can feel the love pouring off you," Osamu scoffed. He leaned further out and a few drops of rain dripped from the roof onto his vest. His eyes narrowed minutely, but to Isamu's trained eye the disapproval rang loud and clear.

"Who's out there?" Isamu asked.

"I'll only tell you if you promise to be civil," Osamu answered.

"I'll make no such promise." Especially with the discontent he read in his older brother.

"I'm asking for civil, not nice," Osamu remarked with a _'Try anyway'_ glance his way as the source of his aggravation came into Isamu's view in the form of a water-logged orange coat and floppy blond mop.

Isamu groan and glared _'Do I have to?'_ athis brother.

'_Yes'_ Osamu's raised brow silently snapped and Isamu rolled his eyes.

His brother was too proper for Isamu sometimes. Neither of them liked the Uzumaki boy after whatever happened with Hinata. She never explained the details, but the look on her face that day told Isamu everything he needed to know, and no one hurt Hinata and stayed on Isamu's good side.

The blond idiot was running right for them, too. If he had half a clue what he did to Hinata, neither of them would have tolerated such bold behavior. Unfortunately for Isamu, Osamu sent a warning glare his way. They _were_ supposed to be professional after all.

Osamu held out a casual hand wide enough to stop Naruto from bursting through the gate and into the compound. "How can we help you?" he offered politically polite.

"You can bring out that no-good, sorry excuse for a brother so I can beat him up!" Naruto demanded, shaking out his hair and successfully splattering both twins in the process.

Osamu offered an amused tweak of his lips to warn Isamu to let him handle Naruto. His brother released a deep, exasperated sigh and returned to his previous stance against gate wall. "Well there are lots of brothers in the clan. There're big brothers, little brothers, somewhere in the middle brothers."

"Twin brothers," Isamu added, thoroughly enjoying the game the more Naruto shook with anger.

"Hinata's brother!" Naruto shouted.

"Alas," Osamu shrugged, "that specific brother is currently unavailable–"

"With said sister," Isamu interrupted.

"Indeed, so you see, you'll need to reschedule your intended ass kicking." Osamu smiled and nodded his head respectfully. "Please do come again."

Isamu had to give his older brother credit. No one could piss someone off that much while being polite as well as Osamu, and Naruto was fuming now.

Naruto stepped up until he was mere inches from Osamu, though the height difference was practically laughable. "If he was with her I wouldn't be here to kick his butt!" he yelled.

Both twins snapped to attention. They were a lot of things the clan wasn't fond of, but they actually _did_ know when to stop. Hinata was definitely one of the subjects that made them serious, especially when confusing news of her was coming from an enraged out-of-claner.

"What're you talking about?" Osamu asked.

"I mean anyone who leaves her waiting doesn't deserve to be–"

Isamu was halfway down the road, the rain slamming against his face, before Naruto finished his sentence. He didn't need to know the details. Details could be figured out later. The only thing that mattered to him as he vaulted onto the rooftops to make a clear shot for the academy was whether or not Hinata really was waiting still. If she was, Naruto was going to be the least of Neji's worries; Isamu would see to that.

The pounding rain and dark skies made it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of him, and even then only when lightning flared across the sky and turned the evening to midday for one brief moment. But Isamu was a Hyuuga. He activated byakugan and searched through the blurring sheet of rain to the quickly approaching academy. There she sat, clenching the rope supports of the tree swing as if the wind would blow her off if she loosened her hold for a moment. Not even byakugan's sure sight could tell if tears mixed with the rain streaming down her pale cheeks, but the denial in her searching eyes was resolute.

To see the hurt in her shivering body, the hurt she unwaveringly refused to let herself feel, was almost too much. Her teeth locked together, her ragged breath, her feet sunk so deeply in the mud her legs held the swing still. Everything in her body screamed at her to believe the one thing her eyes wouldn't: Neji wasn't coming. Isamu wasn't going to forget that image, and he'd make sure Neji didn't either.

When he landed on the road leading to the schoolyard Isamu called out to her so she knew who was coming. As firmly as she clamped onto her denial, he didn't want her to give her false hope and then dash it away. Even when he was right in front of her, Hinata looked past him to keep watch on the road.

"Neji-niisan's coming," she snapped before he could say a word. Isamu wasn't sure if the tremble in her voice was from emotion or cold, but her skin was paler than even a Hyuuga's should be and her teeth chattered beneath the drowning rain.

"Hinata-sama," Isamu began softly, not wanting to force her to accept the truth but knowing she must, "if he hasn't come by now, he's not coming."

"He promised. He's coming," she insisted.

Isamu tried to take her hand but she jerked it away. "Hinata-sama, please come home with me. Neji's not coming and you need to get out of this rain."

"Neji-niisan's coming," she repeated, closing her eyes to keep from seeing anything but her contrived truth. The more he saw how desperately she clung to the lie, the harder it was for Isamu to maintain his calm. He shoved a lid the boiling anger for now though. For Hinata he'd be gentle; he'd save his anger for Neji.

But she wouldn't listen to him, and Isamu could think of only one way to impress how very seriously he knew Neji wasn't coming. His eyes darted nervously around them. He had no idea how far behind Osamu or any of the clan was, but he knew if anyone but his brother heard him Isamu could get into trouble for what he was about to say.

He snatched her hands from the rope and held them tight despite her attempts to free herself. In a voice that conveyed a friendship and caring that only came from years together, Isamu said, so very softly, "Hinata."

No suffix. No respect. Sure he called Neji by his name all the time, but Neji was a transplant to the main family and his cousin. He wasn't the heir. To call Hinata that was to bring her down to his level, or raise himself to hers; both dangerous actions in a long divided clan. As he thought, not even Hinata could ignore how in earnest he was to call her by her name. Hesitantly, she looked at him.

"Hinata," Isamu repeated, demanding her attention with that one word, "Neji's not coming."

Her lips quivered as the truth finally broke through the wall and filled her eyes. When the last shred of hope disappeared, Hinata dropped her head against his shoulder and cried in the rain.

"He promised," she whispered.

"I know," he said, letting her take the moment to feel whatever she needed, but just a moment. Her fingers were like ice and her breathing strained in ways he hadn't heard since she was little.

He pushed her away enough to stroke her face and offer a warm gaze. "Come on. I'll take you home."

* * *

"–called her brother!" Naruto finished as Isamu bolted from his post without even a parting glance at Osamu.

He couldn't blame Isamu, not if Hinata was waiting in this storm, but a spilt second of silent planning wouldn't have hurt. Naruto looked around confused by the sudden departure of one of his targets.

"Listen, kid, thanks but you need to get out of here now," Osamu warned, itching to do his duty but not wanting to leave before Naruto did.

Naruto bristled at the order and dug his heels in. "I'm not going anywhere till I see Hinata's brother!"

"You don't get it," Osamu said, leaning in close to try and impress on Naruto's dense skull the importance of what he was about to say, "I have to go in and tell Hinata-sama's uncle –our clan head– that the heir to the clan has been out in this storm for hours and no one knew it. The shit's about to hit the fan like this clan hasn't seen in years. Unless you want to get Hinata-sama into even more trouble, _you_ can't be here when that happens."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his scowl couldn't have dragged his face down anymore without hitting the ground, but for once he held his tongue. Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets he glared at Osamu. "You'll take care of Hinata, right?"

Osamu nodded. "That's what my brother's doing now."

"Fine," Naruto conceded bitterly. He turned to leave but stopped and flipped one last look back. "Tell Hinata I'll see her at class tomorrow."

"I will," Osamu agreed and watched Naruto's orange jacket disappear into the rain. Despite whatever happened between them, at least they were still friends. For Hinata's sake.

With Naruto safely away, Osamu activated byakugan and searched for the academy. Isamu was already landing in the road near the schoolyard where Hinata sat on the tree swing appearing sopping wet and frozen to the bone all at once. Osamu'd hoped Naruto had been wrong, but the expression on her face spoke volumes. Now he had to tell Hizashi.

Osamu hastily popped out a clone to provide the illusion of a guard still there and ran through the rain to the main house. Dinner had long since ended and byakugan showed Hizashi in his office and Naomi in the main sitting room reading. The sheer fact that he had byakugan active in the compound would be enough warning to anyone that saw him that something very wrong had taken place, and when he burst through the front door everyone quickly pressed themselves into the walls to let him by. He took a longer route through the house to Hizashi's office so he would pass the sitting room and let Naomi see something was wrong, though his duty told him to speak to Hizashi before anyone else.

When he made it to Hizashi office he threw the door open without a knock (byakugan already informed him he wouldn't be interrupting anyone) and offered a barely-there bow for propriety's sake. "Forgive me Hizashi-sama, but we've just found out Neji never met up with Hinata-sama today."

"What are you talking about?" Hizashi asked, his voice immediately falling into the tone of clan head.

"One of her classmates came by and told us she was still waiting for him at the academy," Osamu explained. "I've confirmed it with byakugan and Isamu has arrived there to retrieve her."

Hizashi stood up just as Naomi came up behind Osamu to find out what was the matter. "Where's Neji?" he asked.

Osamu shook his head. "I don't know. We thought he was with Hinata-sama."

"Neji's not with Hinata?" Naomi questioned, having missed the first part of the conversation.

"Apparently not," Hizashi answered. He pushed past both Osamu and Naomi and headed for the front door with them in step behind him. Osamu still had byakugan active, so every last twitch of emotion was laid out before his eyes, and right then worry and fury were fighting for supremacy on Hizashi's otherwise impassive face.

"Why hasn't Hinata come home if Neji didn't come?" Naomi asked Osamu, knowing his insight –even at a distance– was virtually unbeatable.

"To be honest, Aunt Naomi, as much as she was looking forward to today I think she refused to believe he wouldn't come."

"She should've come home anyway," Hizashi reproached, though Osamu saw worry had won out over anger. "Naomi, I want to know where Neji is and I want to know now."

"I'll find out one way or another." She split off at the next hall while Hizashi followed Osamu's wet path back to the front.

"Is she on her way back?" he asked and Osamu quickly filtered his sight to the academy.

The schoolyard was empty now, so he pulled back following the most obvious route Isamu would take and located them –Hinata securely holding onto Isamu's back– running over the rooftops in the residential district. Isamu's byakugan was active, and, in one of the more surreal abilities any two Hyuugas could perform, he looked directly at his brother from afar. Isamu shook his head to tell him to stay put and mouthed, 'Yumi'. Osamu understood.

"Hizasahi-sama," Osamu called to stop him before he headed out into the storm, "Isamu has her and is asking we stay here. He wants Yumi-san summoned."

"Yumi?" Hizashi questioned. "Is Hinata hurt?"

Osamu waited for his brother to respond, knowing he was watching the whole interaction just as Osamu was watching him. Isamu shook his head but his eyes weren't convincing. He jerked a quick _'Look at her'_ to explain. Hinata wasn't hurt, but when Osamu's gaze focused on her he saw how badly she was shaking.

"She's not hurt," Osamu clarified, "but she's been in the rain too long. He's worried."

Hizashi nodded his understanding. "All right, go find Yumi and bring her here immediately. I'll wait for them to arrive."

Osamu nodded once to Hizashi and once to his absent brother to tell him he'd no longer be watching. He started for the branch house, silently wishing there was a covered path between the houses. The trip from the gate to the main house had left him wet but dryable. Now, with the downpour getting worse by the minute, he was soaked through.

Though Yumi was a member of the council, she was still technically branch. It was her position as the primary clan healer and Atsuko's selection to be married to Hiashi that allowed her the kind of influence she had among the clan. It also meant that her home was one of the closest to the main house in case of emergencies. Unfortunately, Osamu still had to cross the training yards and the meeting hall before reaching her.

Yumi took the news like a true med-nin and hurried back with him immediately. She was smart enough to grab a pancho first, though. By the time they'd returned to the main house Isamu was standing on the front porch dripping so thoroughly as to look as if he were still standing in the rain. Yumi was directed in, while Osamu waited outside with his brother. He wasn't in much better state than Isamu after that last run.

"How is she?" Osamu asked once everyone had left them alone.

Isamu was silent, a low simmering anger building back up as he thought back to the girl he's retrieved. Then, finally, in a tone quieter than Osamu could believe to be true, he answered, "It's not anger or even betrayal. She's defeated."

"That bad?"

"You didn't see her when I was talking to her," Isamu said too even to be calm, and Osamu knew better than to delve any deeper just yet. He leaned in and rested his forehead against his brother's and simply held him there. The clan could think they were eternally happy and lighthearted all they wanted, but when they turned serious it mattered to them more than the clan would ever understand.

"Osamu, Isamu," Naomi's soft voice called to them from the doorway. In her arms were towels and two black kimonos. "Come and dry off. You both can wait inside until we hear from Yumi."

"Our shift isn't over yet," Osamu replied, more out of duty than desire. He was worried about Hinata as much as his brother was.

Naomi merely smiled. "Don't worry about that. It might do Hinata good to see you both if she's up to it."

"Thanks, Aunt Naomi," they replied in unintentional unison.

They rung out their hair and peeled off their vests and shirts on the porch to avoid completely drenching the floors before taking the towels Naomi offered. She led them to a nearby bathroom to change in, waiting outside the door. When they were dry and properly clothed again, a servant was waiting with Naomi to collect the remainder of their soiled clothes.

"Aunt Naomi," Isamu started as he hand-combed his hair free of tangles, "did you find out where Neji is? I have a few choice moves I'd like to test on him."

Naomi took a deep breath and Osamu saw her control slip for a moment. "Yes. Get in line. And don't mention that around Hizashi just yet. He has more than _a few_ choice moves he'd like to test on Gai at this moment."

"Gai?" Osamu asked as she led them to the same sitting room he'd seen her in earlier. The floor was still wet from his first trip.

Naomi nodded. "Yes, after much searching someone noticed a crumpled up note stuck between the two screens of Neji's door. It says –in rather deplorable handwriting– that he was 'taking Neji on the next journey towards manhood'. We're not entirely sure what that means, but we have a feeling that's Gai-talk for an over-night mission. We've sent someone to the mission office to verify. He should be back shortly."

"Neji should've told someone," Isamu seethed.

"I agree," Naomi said, "but we won't know his side until he returns. Even without Neji, though, Hinata shouldn't have waited out there. We're lucky Hyobe-sama's out of the village right now. He's going to have a fit when he hears about this."

All three of them turned as the door to the sitting room opened and Yumi entered. The front of her kimono was splotched with damp patches, but Osamu didn't see any exhaustion or excessive worry in her face. Beside him Isamu relaxed as he read the same thing.

"How's Hinata?" Naomi asked for the group.

"Cold and tired," Yumi answered. "She had a bit of a fever starting and I'm not entirely comfortable with the sound of her lungs, but as long as she doesn't get worse, I'm not too concerned. I think with some warm covers and a day or so of rest and she'll be fine."

Osmau watched Isamu relax even further and a realization hit him deeper any he'd seen in his brother before. Long ago they made an agreement that some things, once read, wouldn't be spoken of between them. As close as they were it was necessary to ensure what little privacy they wanted would be respected and maintained even if it couldn't be hidden. Osamu knew in that instant that what he saw he was not meant to see, and he quickly turned his gaze to Naomi to cover up any shock that might betray him. He wouldn't think about it, he wouldn't speak of it, not until Isamu came to him. If only he could ignore it just as easily.

"Is she up for visitors?" Isamu asked, dragging Osamu back to the conversation around him.

Yumi nodded. "But only a short visit. Like I said, I'm not entirely happy with the way her lungs sound, so I'd like her to rest."

The twins bowed and slipped out to let the women talk alone. Isamu led the way which gave Osamu a little longer to shake off what he saw. He didn't want to look disconcerted in front of Hinata. A servant waited outside her door; by Hizashi's orders they were told. Osamu felt sorry for Hinata. Her freedoms were probably going to be severely limited again after this little stunt.

Isamu knocked on the door. "Hinata-sama, can we come in?"

When they received no response the servant waved them in. "She hasn't been talking since she got back," he told them.

Hinata lay on her futon bundled under enough covers to mask any semblance of a human silhouette. Her hair was still damp but hardly; her pillow was barely wet beneath her. Isamu had been right, in her eyes was defeat. He wasn't sure _what_, but she'd given up on something. It wasn't the same girl who'd run past them that morning with a smile that could have rivaled the sun. They both knelt down beside her futon and put on their best matching grins to try and cheer her up.

"You feeling any better, Hinata-sama?" Isamu asked as gently as he could make his voice. She shook her head without looking at them.

"You know you could've come to us, Hinata-sama," Osamu offered, resting his hand on the mountain of covers where he estimated her hand to be. "We're here at the compound everyday, and you know we love it when someone relieves our boredom for a while."

Neither twin missed the way Hinata's eyes widened ever so slightly. Some part of what he said affected her, and when her broken gaze shifted they knew she wanted to say something. They waited, letting her fix the courage or strength or whatever she needed to bring forward her voice again. When she finally did, it wasn't a question they expected to hear.

"Why can't Neji-niisan hate his team like you did? Why can't he want to stay home too?"

Osamu and Isamu stared at each other for a long time without a single message glanced between them. They thought she understood; everyone understood, that's why they never had to say it aloud. Osamu nodded to his brother's unasked question. For Hinata, they'd admit it.

He looked Hinata in the eyes and let the real emotions fall plain on his face so she'd know they weren't lying. "Hinata-sama, we're not proud of the fact we're here."

"The fact we can't work with people is a failure," Isamu continued. "Part of us wishes we could get along. We miss being active, even with the stupid missions."

"But you chose each other instead," she whispered.

"Yeah," Osamu agreed. "We chose to give up and take the easy, familiar way out. We accept that, but that doesn't mean we want you or Neji to be like us."

Isamu brushed back her bangs and stared on her bare forehead. "You and Neji are so much better than us. Don't make our mistakes, Hinata-sama. Show us what we should've done, instead."

Hinata didn't say anymore than night. She didn't have to for them to know her thoughts. It was all clear in her forlorn gaze. She wasn't ready to believe them.


	18. Echoes of the Past

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review. (Graduate papers = excessive procrastination)

* * *

Hizashi stared at his monthly expense report and let the monotony of the numbers relax him. Nine years ago he never would have thought doing paperwork would be a relief from his life, but if he focused any more on the events of the previous night he was liable to kill someone soon. He didn't even know who he was angriest at: Hinata for being so foolish and passive aggressive, Neji for not telling anyone he was leaving, or Gai for thinking that pathetic excuse of a note was reasonable notice. Gai was still high on his list, but that didn't let the other two off.

Unfortunately the only one he had access to at the moment was the one he had no clue how to handle. He had no idea what was going through Hinata's head to act so stupid. Something more than just Neji breaking his promise was going on, but neither he nor Naomi could figure it out. They even asked the twins, but the boys seemed just as baffled as them.

A quick knock drew Hizashi from his mathematical ruminations and Naomi stuck her head in. By the pensive expression straining her face Hizashi knew this wasn't going to improve his mood.

"Hinata's teacher's here, and I think you need to hear this," she said.

Hizashi pushed his papers away and sighed. "All right, I'm coming." Maybe _he_ could shed some light on what Hinata was thinking; they'd run out of people to ask.

Hizashi followed his wife into the front sitting room where Iruka waited. There was a certain aura of easy discipline around him that came from working with children. Iruka bowed as they entered and Hizashi returned the greeting.

Naomi took a position between them, but to the side as a mediator. "Iruka-san, if you could explain to my husband why you're here, I think he needs to hear it from you."

Iruka nodded, his face tense with unwelcome news. "I came because Hinata's missed again, though Naomi-san informed me she is actually sick this time."

"Wait," Hizashi stopped him so he could work out what he was hearing. "What do you mean 'missed again'? Hinata hasn't been sick all year."

"But she was missing class, quite a bit actually," Iruka said.

That didn't make sense to Hizashi. "Why is this the first we're hearing about it?"

Iruka glanced at Naomi, who nodded for him to continue. Obviously she'd already heard all this and perhaps warned him what Hizashi wasn't going to be pleased to hear.

"I had gotten to the point I was going to come to you," he explained, "but Neji came by and said she was having a hard time at home. He swore he would make sure she came to class if I would wait to tell you. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and she returned to class. When she missed today, I figured it was starting up again and wanted to talk to you before it got out of hand."

Hizashi closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as things began clicking in his mind. The fact that Neji knew all this was happening and didn't tell them just added to Hizashi's list of frustrations with his son, but perhaps it explained a little of why yesterday had been so important to Hinata. Whatever Neji did to get her to go back to class, spending the evening with her was probably a part of it.

"Thank you for coming by. We'll speak with Hinata and she'll return to class tomorrow," Hizashi said to Iruka and offered a respectful nod. Iruka bowed to them both again before showing himself out.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to send her back?" Naomi asked once they were alone. "I talked to her this morning and she's asking to come home and start her training here. It would make Hyobe-sama happy and if she's having this much trouble–"

Hizashi held up a hand to stop his wife. "I want to talk to her." Naomi nodded and he left her to go see his niece.

He understood Naomi's view, and perhaps he even agreed with her, but something about Hinata's actions felt strangely familiar to him, and that he couldn't ignore. His memory drifted back decades to a time when he still gladly called Hiashi his brother –to their last year at the academy– his brother's voice still clear in his ears:

_"Come on, Hizashi, you know you don't want to go to class today. Let's just get out of here and do _something_ else."_

_Hizashi laughed but shook his head. "I've got to prepare for the genin exam, you know."_

_The eleven-year-old Hiashi rolled his eyes and yanked his brother away from the academy. "Come on, once you're genin we're not going to be able to do this. One day won't kill you. Let's go."_

If it had only been once perhaps he could have ignored the similarity, but Hizashi remembered such requests all throughout their final year. That was the last year Hizashi could really say there was no bitterness between them, and suddenly Hizashi wondered if the clan was really all that separated them.

The guard stationed outside Hinata's room bowed as Hizashi approached and opened the door for him. Hinata was sitting up in her futon reading one of her mother's medical books. When the door closed behind him, she set the book aside and quietly waited for him to sit down.

"You teacher came by. He said you've missed class quite often recently," Hizashi said, leaving the explanation open for her to fill in.

There was no shame in her eyes at being caught, only annoyance, and that was more disturbing to see. Before, Hinata had always been remorseful when she did something wrong, even when the twins dragged her into it. Now, he saw Hiashi's eyes in her.

"It's all about the genin exam now," she said in a voice that could have been her father's. "There's really no reason for me to go anymore. I'd like to come home and start my training here. Grandpa will be happy if I come home."

"Your grandfather is going to be furious when he hears what you did," Hizashi reprimanded, and she finally turned away in shame.

"I'm sorry for yesterday," she replied like a doll whose string had been pulled. All the emotion lacking in her voice shone clear in her pale eyes, and Hizashi was certain it was all she could do to detach herself from it. But the question that worried him was what was she detaching from, the pain or Neji himself.

"Neji should be back in a day or two. I'm sure he'll want to apologize to you when he arrives," he probed, hoping to find an answer.

Hinata breathed in and out in deep, wheezing hisses as she worked to maintain her doll-like calm. "There's nothing to apologize for. His team's more important, and I should've accepted that. Since the clan's more important to me, I should focus on it instead of the academy."

"_Just go back to your team already, I have to train with Father now."_

No matter how hard he tried, Hizashi couldn't shake off Hiashi's voice echoing across time in his daughter's words. Hizashi had been so angry at his brother for becoming main family against him that he couldn't see anything but the self-indulgent snobbery of the future clan head. He always believed his brother had thought he was better than Hizashi because Hizashi was branch, but to hear the same words come out of a girl who barely had the self-confidence to stand in front of her grandfather let alone think herself better than anyone, produced another explanation unfolding in front of him.

She was –he was– jealous of the _freedom_ the branch family had over their lives. Hizashi never expected to think of the branch family as free compared to the main, but having lived as clan head he was able to see things differently than when he was merely branch. The seal bound them to the clan and to the rule of the clan head, yes, but it also gave them the freedom to do anything they wanted with their lives, to live as more than a Hyuuga.

The heir didn't have that luxury. The heir existed solely for the clan and despite the attempts to expose them to the village and the academy, the clan was all they really had. And it was now, when the desire to leave fought so closely with the knowledge they couldn't, that forced them to make the choice. They had to make the clan matter more than anything else in their lives in order to justify giving up all the things they wanted, all the things that everyone else got to have.

Hizashi could see in Hinata's eyes that she'd made the choice last night when Neji didn't show. Now, she was desperately trying to run away from anyone and anything that reminded her of the life she couldn't have . . . and that included Neji. Just like Hiashi had pushed him away once he had his team. This was how the division started.

"Please, Uncle Hizashi," Hinata said, pulling Hizashi out of his thoughts, "may I come home and start my training here?"

Hizashi examined the girl he'd raised for the last nine years, remembering how kind and caring she was despite all the opposition against her and imagining what she'd become if he followed his father's example. Hizashi wasn't willing to just stand by and watch Hinata become Hiashi. He refused to make that mistake.

Straightening up he hardened his face and glared at Hinata. "And reward you for bad behavior? I don't think so. You'll return to the academy tomorrow."

"But Uncle Hizashi–"

"Moreover," he snapped, "you'll take the genin exam at the end of the year and I expect you to pass it."

Hinata looked on the verge of tears. "Bu–but why do I have to take the exam?"

"It's rather difficult to become a genin if you don't take the exam," he answered, both his voice and expression softening a little.

Hinata stared up at him so bewildered all other emotions had been evicted from her thoughts. She opened her mouth to speak but turned away too shocked and confused to talk. After two more unsuccessful attempts, she finally managed to squeak out, "Genin?"

He nodded.

"But . . . but I'm not allowed to be genin," she insisted, furiously struggling to keep the hope in her eyes from growing too strong.

"I'm your guardian and I'll decide what you can and cannot do."

"But Grandpa will never let me be genin," she repeated.

"Did I stutter just now?" Hizashi asked and Hinata shook her head. "Good, then you understand that if I say you're going to be genin, I mean it."

She nodded again, so slowly Hizashi wasn't sure her head would rise again. The hope she'd been fighting against ran wild as the realization sunk in. The very idea was so alien to her it took several more moments for the smile to begin to form.

"This is not a reward," Hizashi snapped before she could think his disapproval of her actions was gone. She quickly wiped the burgeoning grin from her face and returned to the proper amount of guilt.

"There'll still be certain restrictions," he continued, going through his head as fast as he could to figure out what he could plausibly hold back on to make his father to agree to this, "chuunin missions will be too dangerous, so you'll be expected to return to the clan once you make chuunin. However it may take years before you reach that level, so I wouldn't focus too much on that."

"But I can get a team and be a real shinobi?" Hinata ventured, still unable to fully believe what Hizashi was telling her.

"Provided you pass the genin exam," Hizashi amended, "which I'd say is in question given your attendance recently."

Hinata straightened up so fast she almost jumped out of bed. "I'll pass! I swear I'll pass!"

"Good." Hizashi let a slight smirk cross his lips for a second before sobering back into his disciplinary tone. "Now as to your punishment for skipping class and lying to us," –Hinata cowered back– "you will be escorted to and from the academy with no deviation and you won't allowed out of the main house grounds until you pass the genin exam. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Uncle Hizashi," she replied, and he finally saw honest remorse in her eyes. A three month grounding should ensure she not forget that.

"Now rest, you have class tomorrow." Hizashi stood up and left one very confused girl.

Shoji doors weren't the most soundproof of materials, and by the appalled expression on his eaves-dropping wife's face hiding just out of sight of the closing door, she'd heard everything.

"Have you lost your mind?" she whispered hastily yanking Hizashi down the hall so she could yell at him properly.

"Actually I'm thinking quite clearly," he replied blandly and earned a smack on the arm for it.

"How could you get her hopes up like that? Hyobe-sama will _never_ let her be a genin."

"Leave my father to me," he told her. "I'll handle him."

"You bet you will," she snapped. "I don't intend to be anywhere in the compound when he finds out what you've done."

Hizashi's brow rose as he stared at his wife. "Now you're just exaggerating things."

"If you think I'm exaggerating, you've seriously forgotten who your father is," she warned him, honest worry in her eyes. "Hizashi, if you can't convince him to let her be a genin, you'll have crushed all of her hopes. That's _not_ what she needs right now."

Hizashi stopped in the middle of the hall and looked into Naomi's eyes to stress how serious he was. "You're right. What she needs right now is something other than the clan in her life, and that's what I'm going to give her. Let me deal with my father. I know what I'm doing."

The apprehension remained on her rigid face, but the opposition had faded. "I hope you do."

They started through the halls again, Hizashi leading her towards the front door. "Do we know what time Father's due back today?" he asked.

Naomi nodded, and the anxiety grew deeper in the soft lines around her mouth. "If he stuck to his schedule, he should be back within the hour."

"Good, that gives me time to go see the Hokage first," he said as he slipped on his sandals to go outside.

"You're seriously going through with this," she wondered aloud.

"I wouldn't have told Hinata if I didn't plan to," he answered. Leaning in, he pressed his cheek against hers for support –for both of them– before pulling away. "If Father gets back before I do, make sure he doesn't talk to Hinata first."

"I already told you, I'm high-tailing it out of here before he gets back," she joked. At times like this, Hizashi was reminded why he loved her so much.

Seeing the Hokage was the easy part of his spur of the moment endeavor. Sandaime was more than pleased to hear, if a bit surprised, that Hinata would be allowed to be a genin. Hizashi even thought he saw a glimmer of conniving in those old eyes as he talked about the 'possibilities' it would give him on team placement. Most teams were created based on final grades from the academy, but Hizashi knew certain teams were hand picked by the Hokage himself based on family techniques that complimented each other. Byakugan tended to compliment any team though, so Hizashi would have to wait and see what Sandaime had in mind. Sandaime also understood that being ready for chuunin missions didn't necessarily mean she had to be ranked chuunin. Hizashi wanted to give her as much time outside the clan as possible.

By the time he returned to the compound there was no doubt his father was there and Naomi had informed him of Hizashi's intention. (She probably had to in order to avoid him going to scold Hinata for the day before, which the entire clan knew about by now.) There was no doubt, because Hyobe was waiting between two very uncomfortable twins at the compound gate with a look on his face that could have sent monsters crying to their mothers.

"Follow me," was all Hyobe said before turning and striding off like an angry god across the compound. If Hizashi didn't know what he was in for, the physical relief flooding the twins the moment Hyobe left would have been funny.

Hizashi followed his father in silence, but instead of going back to the main house, Hyobe led him to the meeting hall between the houses. The couple poor chunnin who'd been using the nearby training ground scattered at the sight of Hyobe's fury and Hizashi had no doubt they'd be warning –and gossiping– to everyone in the branch family to stay away.

The meeting hall made sense to Hizashi. Hyobe never liked to be seen to have lost control of himself in front of the clan. It was a byproduct of being clan head for as long as he had. However, the meeting hall was a good distance from any other buildings and had thicker walls than mere shoji paper. There Hyobe could yell.

Hizashi took his time closing the wooden doors behind him, knowing his father wouldn't say anything until they were completely secluded. Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, Hizashi turned around and very diplomatically asked, "Is there a problem?"

"You damn well know there's a problem," Hyobe seethed. The cursing itself warned Hizashi how livid his father was. Hyobe considered cursing a mark of low breeding.

Still, Hizashi remained impassive to his father's anger. He stepped forward, listening to the soft shuffle of his sandals on the wood floor. "On the contrary, I feel that I've handled all the situations that occurred in your absence to the best of my reason and judgment."

"I'm not in the mood for games, Hizashi," Hyobe fumed. "What the hell do you think you're doing telling Hinata she'll be a genin? The clan heir always returns to the family after the academy."

"I made a decision based on what I know to be best for Hinata," Hizashi answered, still slowly pacing around the room to force his father to follow him.

Hyobe's gaze narrowed. "You don't have the authority to make a decision like that."

"I'm clan head, aren't I? I'm her regent."

"Only until she comes of age and not over the decision of the council," Hyobe stipulated.

The fury seeping from his father slowly infected Hizashi's calm. These were the arguments he'd fought with his father each time they disagreed on what was best for Hinata. The difference was this time Hizashi didn't intend to lose.

"Didn't you tell me when you proposed this over Hiashi's dead body that I would have the same privileges and powers as the clan head?" he asked, his pace picking up with each question. "Didn't you give me the power to decide how to raise Hinata?"

Hyobe stopped following him near the center of the room, standing as firm physically as he intended in his argument. "The council exists to ensure you don't make decisions that endanger the clan. Even genin missions are too dangerous for an unsealed member of the clan. If Hinata were to fall into enemy hands the entire clan could fall."

"Why did you give her to me then?" Hizashi demanded, the heat in his voice echoing across the empty walls of the meeting hall. "What was it you said to me when Hinata was crying over her father's body? 'I'd already raised two sons, none too successfully.' I'm trying to stop the same mistakes from being made."

"Hinata will not be a genin!" Hyobe bellowed. "And if I remember correctly, you very adamantly told me that you were not her father. Perhaps _you_ need to remember that."

Hizashi's fists clenched at his side until the skin was as white as the bone beneath. He felt anger so deep and close to him that it calmed his voice and a dead pallor sat like a mask over his eyes. "I know I'm not her father –I can't be her father– but you made her my daughter and I'm going to fight for her. Hinata will be a genin, because she needs more than the clan in her life."

"I'm not going to allow it," Hyobe repeated.

"You don't seem to understand, Father," Hizashi started coolly, walking forward until he stood within arms reach. "This is not a discussion or a debate. This is an ultimatum. Either Hinata becomes genin, or I wash my hands of this clan."

Hyobe's anger faltered for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Neji, Naomi, and I will return to the branch house immediately, and you can run this clan any way you see fit." Hizashi didn't sway or flex or even blink, and it would have taken more than anything Hyobe could do to him to uproot from that spot.

"You'd leave Hinata alone?" Hyobe asked in such disbelief it quieted him.

"I refuse to sit here and watch history repeat itself when I know what needs to be done," he answered with all the authority he'd acquired in the last nine years. "So what's your decision?"

Hyobe looked about the room dumbfounded. "Hizashi, she can't be–"

Hizashi broke past him and headed for the door. "You made your choice then. We'll start packing immediately."

"Hizashi!" his father yelled. The urgency in Hyobe's voice stung his ears, and Hizashi paused with his hand on the door.

"Hizashi," he said calmer, "please be reasonable. The clan doesn't need this kind of upheaval."

"Then Hinata will be made genin," Hizashi insisted.

"Hizashi," his father pleaded.

He turned around and looked on his father, a man beyond his prime but not beyond his power. And right then Hizashi knew something had shifted between them. It might not last past that one single instant in the empty meeting hall, but for that moment Hyobe had lost the power to control him.

"Genin," Hizashi ordered. "She'll be genin."


	19. Meeting Again

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Neji fought back the yawn working to betray just how much he wanted his own futon. Camping out was all part of the shinobi world, but camping out with Gai –and now mini-Gai– was more exhausting than anything they warned him about in the academy. Showing that slight weakness in front of the Hokage during their debriefing wasn't what he intended to do, though. Why a C-class mission like theirs was being debriefed by the Hokage himself was strange enough. Sure it took a little longer than they'd expected after Lee sent one of the litters of piglets running and their Mama boar went into a frenzy, but that was hardly the concern of the Hokage.

Gai finished his 'enthusiastic' account of the three-day boar hunt with a flourish boasting on how well the team worked together, which Neji thought was a bit of an exaggeration. If it had been just Neji and Tenten they might have finished earlier. Lee and Gai kept those boars on guard the entire mission.

"Thank you, Gai," the Hokage said with a short nod. "We'll contact you again when your next mission comes up, but before you head home, Neji's father would like to have a word with you. And Gai, do listen to what he has to say. I don't generally like getting complaints about my jounin instructors."

Neji's stomach dropped like a stone in water. What had Gai done while they were gone to account for Hizashi to come complain to the Hokage himself? Gai swore to clear up any misunderstandings or else do one thousand laps around the village on his hands in penance, but that didn't alleviate the dread swirling in the back of Neji's mind. Neji had –amazingly– gotten used to Gai's antics, his father wasn't exactly the kind of man to be satisfied with Gai's self-deprecation no matter how outlandish it was.

They parted from Tenten and Lee at the office door, and Neji followed Gai to the compound. All the while Gai added new and more insane acts to his list should he have offended Hizashi in some way, but Neji stopped listening somewhere after 'five hundred pinky push-ups'. Neji couldn't figure out what would have caused his father to complain to the Hokage. Nothing seemed that important. Sure he came in early the morning they left, but that was the whole point of his team coming by to be introduced to the main house staff. What could Gai have done?

Gai was still rambling when the gate to the compound came into view. Maybe the twins would give him a heads up. As social as they were (and they had access to everyone in the clan being at the gate) those two had to know everything that happened in the compound.

He was about to call out to them when Isamu caught sight of him. It wasn't often Neji saw the twins upset –they had a remarkable ability to shrug off just about any problem– but the hatred that boiled in Isamu's pale eyes was almost to the level of the branchers who resented the main family. Even if he didn't know that couldn't be the reason because of their relationship with Hinata, Neji could tell that Isamu's cold glare was fixed solely on him. What happened while he was gone?

"Isamu," Osamu called in both warning and command. Isamu looked away, but his hands remained fisted and held tight across his chest in restraint.

"What's going on?" Neji asked as diplomatically as possible. He didn't know what he did, but the fact Osamu called his brother by his name instead of 'Otouto' like he normally did warned Neji how little control he had over Isamu's anger at the moment.

"Hizashi-sama wants you to remain in the front yard, someone will get him for you." Osamu waved them forward without further explanation, but he shook his head at Neji to caution not to ask anymore.

Neji liked this less and less. _Something_ must have happened while he was out, but what would garner a reaction like that against him from Isamu _and_ make his father complain about Gai?

As Osamu said a servant met them at the front porch and instructed them to wait while he informed Hizashi they were there. It felt strange being treated like an outsider in his own home. Even stranger was the unusual atmosphere that surrounded the people he saw. Aside from the twins, everyone else he'd encountered had a nervous aura about them and not just from his and Gai's presence. It was something in the compound itself, a dread or fear he couldn't place.

The front door slid open with slow control and the man standing behind it made Neji take a step back. It was his father no doubt, but the mask of control over his face so perfectly removed any trace of emotion that a chill ran down Neji's spine. He'd rather see the intense anger he'd seen in Isamu than the eerily calm façade of the clan head on his father's face. At least with anger you knew what to expect.

"Hyuuga-sama," Gai began with a manly bow of contrition, "it seems there has been some kind of misunderstanding, but whatever it is I take full responsibility and vow to make amends even if it takes ten thousand laps around the village."

Neji really wished Gai would realize not everything in the world could be fixed with an exorbitant number of laps around the village. To be honest, Neji wasn't sure that could fix_ anything_ actually.

Hizashi remained silent, which unnerved Neji even more. Slowly, Hizashi raised a hand and motioned for Gai to approach. Gai curiously obeyed, stepping forward a few feet. Hizashi motioned again and Gai once again obeyed. By the third time Hizashi waved him forward Gai was on the porch in front of Hizashi and leaned close enough to hear a whisper.

Neji barely registered the build up of chakra before his father pushed into a spin and the signature circle of the kaiten exploded around him. The shoji doors behind him split and rattled from the force as Gai was yanked a full rotation before being evicted into the air and sent crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust. Neji stood frozen in place, too shocked to even begin comprehending what had happened.

Hizashi strode across the open yard, not sparing the slightest glance at his son, and towered over Gai, who was furiously shaking the disorientation from his head. "In what delusional world of yours does _this_ constitute proper notice!" he bellowed, whipping a tattered note from his sleeve and shoving it in Gai's befuddled face.

Gai blinked and squinted to read the note better, then blinked again. "It wasn't?"

"No," Hizashi seethed, "it's not."

That sick feeling of dread Neji'd had since leaving the Hokage's office sunk to the ground and dragged any hope he had left along with it. Suddenly the twins' anger made sense. If Gai didn't leave notice they were leaving the village that meant no one told Hinata he wasn't coming. Neji wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened while he was gone anymore.

Finally understanding what Hizashi was upset about, Gai scrambled onto his knees and bowed so over-exaggeratedly Hizashi had to step back to keep out of his way. "I see now I've made a grave mistake and am profoundly sorry. As a true man I must not only correct my most horrendous mistake, but I must suffer punishment for what I've done!" Tears ran down his face and he leaned back on his knees with his hand pressed into his stomach as if he could commit seppuku with his bare hands. "Name your punishment and I will gladly bear it."

"What I want is proper notice whenever you take Neji from the village," Hizashi demanded.

"No, I've caused you to worry for your precious son whom you've left in my care. It's inexcusable! I must suffer some consequence for my actions!"

Hizashi's calm faltered the longer he stared down at the blubbering jounin at his feet. He straightened to his full height and took a few more strategic steps back. "I'll leave any necessary punishments up to your discretion."

Gai leapt to his feet, body aflame with passionate determination. "Fear not, I won't take your mercy as an excuse to lessen my guilt in the matter! I won't sleep or eat for three days to make sure I understand the terrified, sleepless nights you must have suffered worrying for Neji, where no food or drink could possibly give you comfort! And I'll do five hundred laps around the village and then five hundred more on my hands and a thousand push ups and–"

"Yes, well, it seems you have it all in hand. Why don't you go and start that now, elsewhere" Hizashi interrupted. Not even the façade of the clan head could stand against Gai's exaggerations, and Neji could see his father just wanted Gai to leave before he returned to the grown man weeping at his feet again.

"Absolutely! I must begin immediately!" he shouted and all that was left of Gai was a trail of dust.

Hizashi pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered to himself, "How do I feel like the bad guy here?"

Before his father could recover completely, because Neji had no doubt he was next on his father's list, Neji stepped forward and lowered his head in apology. "I swear, he told me that he let you know we were leaving. If I'd known he hadn't, I'd have told someone. I should've realized this was Gai though and sent word anyway." Neji peeked up to find his father glowering down at him.

"Is that all?" he asked in a voice that informed Neji it wasn't.

He thought back to what else he needed to apologize for. "I'll apologize to Hinata for not coming, of course."

Hizashi crossed his arms and waited. "Keep going."

"I'm not sure what else," Neji hesitantly admitted.

"Think very carefully," Hizashi stressed. "What could you possibly have not wanted me to find out?"

Neji cringed and dropped his gaze to the ground. "You found out about Hinata."

"Hinata?" Hizashi questioned expectantly. He was going to make Neji confess one way or the other.

"That Hinata was skipping classes and I didn't tell you," Neji answered and Hizashi nodded. "But I got her to go back to class, I thought that would be enough. I was just trying to protect her."

"Thinking you need to protect her still is your problem," Hizashi scolded. "If you'd told us we would've dealt with it the way it needed to be handled, and maybe we would've been better prepared for what happened."

Neji snapped to attention. "Did something happen to Hinata?"

Hizashi sighed and sat down on the porch. He waved Neji over to join him. "She waited for you for over four hours in one of the worst storms Konoha's had all season, and none of us knew to go after her because we thought you were with her."

Neji covered his eyes to hide the guilt swelling across his face. Now he understood what drove his father to kaiten Gai. He was starting to wish he could do the same. He knew he should've made sure the family was informed.

"Is she okay?"

Hizashi nodded. "A day of rest took care of her, and since now I knew there was a problem, I've handled the rest as well. This is as much her fault as it is yours and Gai's. Though Gai should've known better." He muttered the last sentence under his breath with a hint more bitterness than the rest.

Neji stood up and brushed his shorts off to avoid looking directly at his father. "I'll go pick her up from the academy and apologize."

"If you can convince her escort," Hizashi added and Neji almost thought he saw a smirk flicker over his father's lips.

"Escort?"

"I told you Neji, this debacle is as much her fault, and she's being punished for it and for cutting classes. So she's being escorted to and from the academy again."

Neji was almost afraid to ask. "Who's her escort?"

* * *

"No way in hell," Isamu spit with as much loathing as a demon on a rampage.

Neji sighed and let it go since he was at fault this time. "I want to apologize to her and I'd rather do it in private."

"You say that as if I care what would make _you_ feel better," Isamu snapped.

Osamu grabbed Neji by the shoulder and pulled him back. "Just give it up, Neji-chan. You're not going to convince him." Osamu shirked his head toward the village and Isamu followed his brother's unsaid command to head for the academy to wait for Hinata.

Neji yanked out of Osamu grip and glared at the smooth wood walls of the guard station for lack of an appropriate target. "It's not like I meant to do it. You know I wouldn't have left her intentionally."

"I know," Osamu replied more civilly than his younger brother, "Isamu does, too. But Neji, you have to understand, Isamu was the one who went and got her from the academy that night. He _wants_ to be pissed at you. So my suggestion to you is when he hits you, and he's going to eventually, don't dodge. It'll just piss him off more."

Neji leaned against the wall where Isamu had been and let everything he'd heard so far sink in. The conclusion he was coming to wasn't the one he wanted to imagine. Finally, he looked up at his cousin and watched for the truth. "Was it really that bad?"

Osamu nodded and Neji guilt twisted inside him until he felt sick.

"That night it was really bad. She was defeated. But the next day, after Hizashi-sama said she could be a genin, then she–"

"Genin?" Neji interrupted. "What do you mean Hinata gets to be genin?"

"Hizashi-sama didn't tell you?" Osamu asked with a sinister little smirk on his face. He might be more tolerant than his brother at the moment, but obviously he wasn't above enjoying Neji's discomfort.

"No," Neji grumbled through clenched teeth. He hated being out of the loop.

"Well," Osamu sighed, dragging out the silence just to annoy him, "I haven't quite figured out why, and what I've read on Hizashi-sama is a bit confusing, but he made the decision on his own. Hyobe-sama was furious, but whatever your dad told him must have put him in a corner, because it's obvious to anyone in the clan Hyobe-sama is still completely against it, but he's not fighting it anymore."

"Dad overruled Grandpa? I didn't think that was possible."

"No one did," Osamu agreed.

Neji thought back to the strange fear he'd felt in the compound with new eyes. "The clan's not happy about it, are they?"

Osamu shook his head, and for a moment his eyes lowered to elude Neji's _sight_. "We're hearing things. The clan's worked so hard to keep her safe that to just send her out . . . It's not just putting the clan at risk of byakugan being taken, it puts us at risk of losing the last legitimate heir. If something happens to her, who takes over? Who's heir? Hizashi-sama? You? It makes the clan nervous."

"And?" Neji pressed, recognizing Osamu's hesitation to meet his gaze for the avoidance it was.

After a long, studied pause, Osamu finally spoke again. "Sometimes I wish the clan could see what we do. Then they'd know that Hizashi-sama's decision isn't catering to Hinata-sama or pampering the main family like they're all saying. Whatever Hizashi-sama's reasons were, they came from an old pain, not Hinata-sama. We can see it when he looks at her."

Neji'd always been a teensy bit jealous of how easily the twins could read people. Being a 'genius' with jyuuken made him want to be the best in all of the Hyuuga techniques. Every once in a while though he was reminded talent was sometimes a double-edged sword. It wasn't always easy to see a truth no one wanted to listen to.

"Do you think the clan's turning against her?" Neji asked.

"Not yet," Osamu answered. "They're waiting to see what happens next. They don't know how to take an heir becoming genin, but in their eyes, if she's going to be leaving the village, she had better succeed."

Neji and Osamu fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for Isamu to return with Hinata. Neji never imagined his father would even consider letting Hinata be a genin, let alone manage to convince Hyobe to allow it. What could he possibly have said that would do that? Osamu's comment about an old pain in his father was disconcerting, too. There was plenty of tension between the houses that he knew still weighed on his father, but what could Hizashi see in Hinata that would make him remember an old pain? It felt like he'd been gone a year for all the changes and questions Neji had.

He was still in serious thought when the first wave of ill intent hit him like a jyuuken slap upside the head and very nearly sent him colliding with the wall of the guard station. Isamu led the way, and by the smirk on his face Neji had to wonder if the twins hadn't learned some of the Hyuuga's distance techniques yet. A few steps behind Hinata slowly shuffled, her head low and not sneaking more than a few brief glimpses at him. From such a distance he couldn't read the minor intricacies of her body language, but Neji wasn't sure he was ready to see it.

Isamu joined his brother without a word, but his face said enough. He was far from ready to let Neji off the hook, though –more for Hinata's sake than anyone's– Isamu restrained his more gleefully malevolent desires dancing in shadows of those pale eyes.

"Hinata," Neji called softly when she continued to refuse to look up at him. "We need to talk."

After a moment, she nodded and her gaze finally found his. Neji had anticipated hurt or anger or even the abandonment he'd seen when he caught her cutting class, but that's not what he found in her eyes. She was calm. Not the false calm his father had shown to Gai, but a bittersweet understanding that eased her.

"I'm not allowed out of the house except for training and class, so we have to go home first," she said in a quiet voice completely devoid of malice. He'd expected her to be the one angriest with him –she's the one who deserved to be– yet out of everyone so far she had the kindest expression.

They left the twins to their post and Neji followed her back to the house. He noticed a couple servants' silhouettes through the shoji doors scurry away further into the house as she sat down on the front porch. She waited for him to join her, but Neji didn't sit down immediately. Instead, he knelt on the ground in front of her so he was forced to lift his head to her. It was a small consolation for what he'd allowed to happen, if unintentionally, but he wanted her to know she was more important than his pride.

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise, Hinata. I didn't want to and I didn't know no one in the house had been told I was leaving the village. It's not an excuse, but it's the truth, and I _am_ sorry."

"I'm sorry too," she said. Her eyes lowered to show her shame, but not enough to look away from him.

"For what?"

"For thinking you needed to be there." Hinata turned her head away, her face twisting and wrinkling together as she figured out just what she wanted to say. So intense was her concentration, Neji simply sat before her in silence.

"I've been thinking a lot these last couple days," she started, working through each word with precise intention. "Ever since Uncle Hizashi said I could be genin. I was so excited at first. I've always wanted to be like you and everyone at the academy, but then when I went back to class I was terrified at the thought of taking the genin exam. It was what I wanted . . . but it scared me and I didn't know why."

Neji moved from his place below her to sit on the porch and wrap a comforting arm around her shoulder. Just by talking about it, he could see the fear in her whole body. Her very breathing shallowed into a wheeze.

"I kept thinking it was what I wanted, but then I realized it wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was to be with you, because I was too scared to be alone. When I'm alone I can't do anything right, but you do everything right. That's why I wanted to be a genin with you, and when I couldn't I wanted you home with me. If you're with me I won't fail, because you can't fail."

"That's not true, Hinata," Neji consoled her, gently rubbing her arm in a slow repetitive motion.

"But that's what I think. It's what I've always thought." She shook her head out and breathed deep to stop the wheeze from going any further toward tears. The calm from earlier slipped back into place with each consecutive inhale and measured exhale. "But I don't want to keep thinking that anymore. Uncle Hizashi's giving me chance to do something for myself and not for the clan. I want to do it right. I want to do it on my own. I want to _succeed_ on my own."

Neji stared at the girl next to him and for the first time realizing she wasn't the same one he knew how to help. He'd seen determination in her eyes before, but always in trying to do something for someone else and always muted by the fear of failure she'd desperately want him to mollify. The girl next to him now was determined for herself and the fear, while there, resisted him. He couldn't comfort her, because this time she didn't want to be comforted. She wanted him to let her fail on her own on the chance she'd eventually succeed.

"I hate it when Dad's right," Neji huffed, dropping back to lie flat on the smooth wooden porch. At the confused expression marring his sister's face, he just smiled. "I need to stop thinking you need me to protect you, and I don't like it one bit. I want to protect you."

Hinata returned his smile with one of her own, only now he understood the bittersweetness tainting it. "I like you protecting me."

"But you don't want me to anymore," he finished for her, and she shook her head.

Neji sighed and stared up at fluffy white clouds drifting across the clear sky. "It looks like both of us are going to have to get used to this."


	20. A Genjutsu with Love

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

Just as a warning, since I am finally entering canon territory the events of the manga that do not pertain to the Hyuugas will remain true as the story progresses. So while I'm sure you all are familiar with the original series story, eventually I will be getting to post timeskip and the new stories. So if you haven't read them, you have fair warning I'll eventually get there and spoil things. I just hope Kishi finishes the current arc before I reach it. I don't want to make up an ending to that. (He has plenty of time though, lots to tell before that.)

* * *

Hinata wanted to be happy. She was scared and nervous and excited, and she so very much wanted to be happy, too. But even as she held the silver piece of metal in her hand –Konoha's emblem beckoning her to a new life she'd never dreamed of having– the lonely, dejected boy watching the rest of their class celebrating kept a firm hold on her heart.

"Hinata-sama," Isamu urged softly, "Aunt Naomi and Hizashi-sama are waiting."

"Just give me a minute," she pleaded and ran across the yard before he could stop her.

Naruto's eyes followed her as she came closer, but none of their usual warmth could be found. Envy and anger took its place. She stopped in front of the tree swing he straddled unsure of what to say to him that could in any way cheer him up.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," was all that came out.

His gaze dropped to the forehead protector in her hands and a wry grin grew in place of the smile she normally enjoyed seeing. "Funny, you were supposed to be the one who didn't get to be genin."

"Maybe . . . maybe you can talk to Iruka-sensei and take the test again," she said, though the hope wasn't strong in her voice.

"It won't help if it's the clone jutsu still," he muttered. "I can do the others, why'd he have to fail me for that one!"

He was always so full of that eternal confidence and optimism that to see it ripped away was like looking into a gapping wound and having no idea how to stop the bleeding. The looks from the parents in the nearby crowd were as good as salt to his pain. Whatever it was that made the adults hate him –because that look reminded her most of the hatred she saw in branchers sometimes– Hinata didn't understand and refused to accept. He was all by himself and now he didn't even have being genin to look forward to. Decent people would be nicer than to ostracize him more.

"I'm sorry," Hinata repeated, knowing nothing else to say that wouldn't sound patronizing. If she could give him her spot she would. Like he said, she wasn't supposed to be the one who made genin.

"Hinata-sama," Isamu called from behind her. He waited a short distance away so as not to intrude on their conversation. "I'm sorry Hinata-sama, but we need to be heading home. You're technically still on punishment today, and it's best not to give your grandfather any reason to take that away." He nodded to her forehead protector.

Hinata looked between the two of them. She knew Isamu was right, but for all Naruto unknowingly hurt her, he was still her friend and she didn't want to leave him like this.

"It's okay, Hinata," Naruto said for her. "One of us should be genin."

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun," she replied. Hinata was about to leave with Isamu when she turned back to her friend, her eyes as serious as she could make them. "If you need anything, come by the compound. I don't care if my aunt and uncle don't like it, you're my friend."

For a moment the bitterness left Naruto's face and the smile Hinata loved returned to its proper place. "Thanks, Hinata."

"Aniki and I get off at seven," Isamu said to Naruto as Hinata joined him. "If you do come by try and make to before then. No one can sneak Hinata-sama out of the compound as well as us." Isamu offered Naruto a consoling nod before ushering Hinata away.

"Thanks, Isamu-kun, for not being mean to him," she said once they were out of earshot. She knew the twins were well aware of what happened; after all, they'd seen her the day it happened, and if Neji knew that Naruto was the one she'd been sweet on, the twins definitely figured it out, too. She was fairly sure that made Naruto high on their 'didn't like' list.

Isamu sighed and glanced back to where Naruto sat now talking with Mizuki, another one of the instructors. "Not even I can kick a kid when he's _that_ down. Besides, I still owe him one, and I don't like being in debt."

Hinata figured the 'one' was probably telling them where she was the day Neji didn't show. Osamu had told her Naruto was the reason they found out she was there. It had helped her a lot in getting over the hurt she felt around Naruto. He might not see her as a girl, but she was still important as a friend.

"Now then," Isamu started, a smile as bright as the sun filling his face, "unfortunate events aside, congratulations Hinata-sama. Make sure you wear that with pride."

Hinata gazed down at the forehead protector still in her hands and despite the sympathy she felt for Naruto, the happiness finally won out. She was genin!

"Are you going to put it on?" he asked.

Hinata shook her head. "I just want to hold onto it for now."

"Afraid Hyobe-sama might try and steal it right off your head?" Isamu joked.

Hinata laughed (thought a part of her wasn't fully sure it wasn't true). "I just like the way it feels."

"Then you'll love the way it feels on," he said, and mussed her hair for good measure. It'd been a long time since he'd done that to her, but then again when Neji became genin the twins started calling him 'chan' again, so maybe coming of age always made people think back.

Osamu was waiting at the gate, as usual, and a confused expression crossed his face until he noticed what her hands kept safe. "Don't you know you're supposed to come home wearing that so we all know you passed," he scolded playfully once they were in earshot.

"That's what I told her, Aniki, but she didn't listen," Isamu replied, taking up his place across from his brother.

Hinata curled her arms up and held the forehead protector against her chest. "I want to hold on to it."

"Well, congratulations, Hinata-sama. Glad to see you're not as stubborn as me and Otouto," Osamu said, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Now you better do us proud. We'll be watching you."

Hinata almost thought she saw a smirk play on Osamu's lips as he looked at his brother, but she'd quickly returned her embarrassed gaze back to the forehead protector to avoid looking at either of them. "Thanks. I'll do my best."

"Go on," Osamu said with a quick shove her forward. "Aunt Naomi and Hizashi-sama are waiting for you."

Hinata hurried to the main house as fast as she could and earned a number of strange looks from the people she passed. The twins might have been right; she probably should have put it on just to let people know she passed the genin exam. A servant quickly motioned to Hizashi's office the moment Hinata entered the house. The halls never seemed so long before. She yanked the screen door open as soon as her hands reached the wooden frame and all the joy drained from Hinata before she finished entering.

Hyobe stood in front of Hizashi's desk. Anger was etched deep in his aging face, and Hinata would be amazed if he could speak as tight as his jaw was set. Instinctively, Hinata pressed the forehead protector against her chest until she could distinguish the metal rivets on the corners through her clothes. There was little doubt what would upset her grandfather to such a degree, the same thing he'd been angry about for the last three months.

Naomi waited behind Hizashi, a warm smile countering Hyobe's scowl. "Well, Hinata, come in already."

Hinata nodded and silently closed the door. Not that she wanted to be in the same room as her grandfather, but Hizashi and Naomi's presence helped keep her gaze up and looking at them all when she wanted nothing more than to look at the ground.

"You're not wearing a forehead protector," Hyobe commented with a strange mixture of hope and censure. "Did you fail the genin exam?"

"No," she answered –pleased her voice didn't shake– and held up her forehead protector for them all to see. "I passed."

"Congratulations," Hizashi said, successfully cutting off any remaining dissension Hyobe might make. It was weird for Hinata to watch her grandfather concede to Hizashi, and she knew it only happened when the argument came up about her being genin. Whatever her uncle said to make Hyobe act that way, Hinata wished he say it more often. She preferred Hizashi's decisions to Hyobe's.

With what was no doubt another dispute about her ended, hopefully forever now that the exam had passed, Hyobe strode out of the room. Hinata could feel his eyes on her even after the door closed again.

"Don't let your grandfather spoil this," Naomi said once he was gone. "Congratulations. We couldn't be more proud of you."

* * *

Hinata stared at the forehead protector in her hands the same way she had all weekend. Unlike Neji or the twins, Hinata's genin exam had ended up before a weekend break and she'd had two days now to go over the same question she'd had when she'd first received it. And now that she had to decide, the answer still seemed to elude her.

Hinata looked at her reflection in the mirror and gingerly lifted her bangs to reveal a bare, unmarred forehead. How could she possibly wear it as it should be worn knowing what it meant for a Hyuuga to have a covered forehead? The more she thought about it the more insulting it seemed. The heir to the clan covering her forehead? Konoha's forehead protector was important to the branch family; it covered the mark in such a way that no one outside the clan knew it even existed. For her to wear it the same way when she wasn't bound by the seal . . .

And yet, she didn't want them to think she was above covering her forehead or that she wanted to shove it in their faces that she was unsealed. There didn't seem to be an answer that wouldn't leave someone offended whether she covered her forehead or not.

She raised the forehead protector to her face as it should be and stared at her reflection for a moment. Her bangs normally covered her forehead, but that was just a hairstyle. To wear the symbol of Konoha on her forehead when it was bare beneath . . . Hinata couldn't do it.

Taking the two cloth bands in her hands, Hinata carefully tied the forehead protector around her neck and tucked it beneath the collar of her jacket. It might not be how it's supposed to be worn, but it was the only way she could bring herself to wear it. And she wanted to wear it.

Hinata took one last look at the smooth metal peeking out beneath her jacket and exhaled. "You can do it," she told her reflection over and over until the girl on the other side actually looked like she believed it. This was going to be an exciting and terrifying day.

With her confidence fortified, Hinata headed out to breakfast to say goodbye to everyone. Hizashi, Naomi, and Neji were all already eating when she arrived. Hinata joined them at the table and grabbed a small bowl of rice to nibble on. She was too nervous to eat anything substantial.

"Nice fashion statement," Neji teased as he took in where her forehead protector was located.

Hinata rubbed the metal as if it might give her a better response than the truth. It didn't. Hesitantly, and after a nice big bite that made her slightly nauseated to swallow, Hinata replied, "I didn't think it was appropriate to wear normally, not with what it means in the clan. I didn't want to insult the branch family."

Hizashi and Naomi exchanged a glance with more meaning than Hinata could read. Neji might have lived in the main house long enough to not care as much as most branchers about a bare forehead, but Hizashi and Naomi had once felt that difference fully.

Naomi offered her a subdued smile. "It looks wonderful where it is."

Hinata hoped the rest of the clan thought that as well. After poking and shifting her food around enough to pretend she'd eaten something, Hinata said good-bye and headed for the academy.

Hinata had asked Hizashi and Naomi all about what would happen as a genin over the last few months. Before, she'd never cared much more than what she knew from Neji or the twins, but now she wanted to prepare herself. She knew from what they said she'd probably have two boys on her team. They said that's the way most teams were because of unequal gender numbers. Since Naruto wasn't going to be a genin, Hinata really didn't have anyone she especially wanted on her team. So long as it wasn't any of the boys who used to tease her, she'd be okay with anyone really. Okay, maybe not an instructor as flamboyant as Gai would be nice, too.

As excited as she was, nothing prepared her for what she saw when she entered the classroom that day. For one solid moment she couldn't stop smiling. "Naruto-kun!" she called, hurrying through the mingling students to the blond boy proudly brandishing a forehead protector in place of his signature goggles. "Naruto-kun, you're a genin! Iruka-sensei let you take the test again?"

Naruto adjusted his forehead protector as a smug smirk filled his warm face. "Actually I kinda saved him."

"Saved him?"

"Yeah, well, some weird stuff happened that night, but Iruka-sensei said I can be a genin and so maybe we can be on the same team together," Naruto said.

Hinata's outlook on being genin immediately brightened. If they were on the same team then Hizashi and Naomi wouldn't be able to say anything about them being friends, and –maybe– being around each other all the time Naruto might see Hinata as a girl more than a friend.

"Yeah, you, me, and Sakura-chan, that'd be an awesome team," Naruto cheered to himself.

And there went that hope. Suddenly Hinata was very glad there was usually only one girl on a team. As much as she wanted to be with Naruto, spending all that time only to watch him moon over Sakura would test the confidence she'd managed to bring back that let her talk to him naturally again.

"Uncle Hizashi and Aunt Naomi said there is generally only one girl to a team, because of numbers and making the teams even," Hinata explained, though her smile was faltering a little.

"Eh, really? That sucks," he sulked, sinking low in his chair. "Well, as long as I don't get stuck with that stupid Sasuke I guess I'll be okay. Though, you or Sakura-chan would be great, too."

Hinata tried to keep her smile up. Being lumped in with Sakura was progress, she supposed. Not great progress, but he didn't say he's _rather_ have Sakura than her. Hinata really needed to stop thinking of Naruto romantically. Naomi promised she would one day.

Naruto continued on without noticing any of the underlying frustrations in her. "Look at him, stupid Sasuke. He's just arrogant, thinks he's better than everyone, and all the girls just love him. What's so special about him?"

Before Hinata could even offer the fact she'd much prefer Naruto's company to Sasuke's, he was out of his chair, hopped up on the desk, and staring Sasuke down just inches from his face. Sometimes Naruto was a little too impulsive for her. She wanted to wait near the desk for his impulse to switch gears, as it tended to, but a herd of girls shoved her out of the way. Hinata was starting to agree with Naruto, what exactly made Sasuke the object of every other girl's affection? Or was Hinata just weird in her tastes?

She was halfway to an empty chair to wait it out when an evil stillness filled the room and threatened to choke the life from every breathing person. Hinata spun around just in time to witness Naruto and Sasuke disengage from . . . a kiss? She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but sitting seemed like a very good idea. Yes sitting and struggling desperately to rid her mind of the image burned deep into her exceptional Hyuuga memory. You couldn't function with byakugan unless you learned to memorize things in an instant or the dual far sight and present sight would drive you crazy trying to separate. Right then Hinata sorely wished she'd never learned that trait. But as much as most of her for once agreed with the squadron of girls beating Naruto to a pulp (though her feelings weren't for Sasuke), another part of her –the hurt part that would tell Neji about it just to have the affirmation of his reaction– was laughing hysterically very deep inside her. It really was funny; after all – with Sasuke!

Naruto climbed his way into a nearby chair and tried to recover from the legion of scorned girls. Hinata attempted to go down and snatch the seat across the aisle from him, but Iruka called everyone to attention before she could get up. She listened with mild attention as he congratulated everyone and made announcements. There was only one thing any of them were interested in anymore: their teams, and finally Iruka started announcing them. Her fingers twisted the hem of her jacket until pieces of faux-fur fluff came out in her hands. Would it really be so much to ask to be in Naruto's team?

Team one. Team two. Hinata focused on breathing. Team three. Team four. Still nothing. Team five. Team Six. Her jacket wasn't going to survive many more teams.

"Team seven: Uzumaki Naruto."

Hinata's breath caught in her throat.

"Haruno Sakura."

And she sighed as dejectedly as Sakura, while Naruto practically leaped for joy next to his pink-haired crush. It wasn't meant be, Hinata thought to herself to lessen the disappointment.

"And Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka finished.

Hinata almost felt sorry for Naruto. His best and worst choices on the same team.

"Team eight," Iruka continued, "Hyuuga Hinata," –Hinata perked up again– "Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."

Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino? Hinata searched the students until the faces matched the names. Inuzuka Kiba was the boy with the little white dog. Hinata knew that certain families, like the Inuzuka, used animals as a part of their family techniques, but she had no idea _how_ that worked. From what she knew in class though he was as big a loud mouth as Naruto, which meant Hinata was going to have to get used to a boisterous personality after all.

Aburame Shino was the exact opposite of Kiba in the entire class. He was more like Hinata, actually. Quiet and a bit of a loner, though Hinata had a feeling that was more by choice for him. She didn't know anything specific about the Aburame family, so his skills –other than slightly above average grades– were a mystery to her.

Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Both came from well-known families in the village, so no civilian children like Neji had with Lee. That meant all three of them probably had family specific techniques, which would make it interesting to work together. At least both of them were better than having one of her old tormentors on her team. Hopefully they were nice.

Iruka spent most of the morning going over basic orientation simply to prolong their day it seemed. Hinata knew it had to be done, but now that she knew who her team was she was anxious (and terrified) to meet them properly. When he finally called for lunch break, all the new genin slowly searched the room for their teammates, some looking nervous like her, others rueful, while even fewer looked pleased. Friendships had been split and strangers thrust together. They were entering the real world now.

Hinata took a deep breath and headed for the teammate nearest to where she sat: Kiba. It was a little amusing to see the puppy sprawled on top of his head like a stuffed animal sewn onto his hood. It made Kiba look soft and fluffy and almost welcoming. Of course the scowl on his face fixed any preconceptions the puppy put in her mind.

"Why'd I get stuck with that creepy guy?" he muttered to himself.

"He–hello," Hinata stuttered, falling into her old habits the more nervous she got.

Kiba snapped around fast enough Hinata was sure his dog should've flung right off his head, but it lay there as lazily as before no matter what Kiba did. "Oh yeah, the Hyuuga girl."

"Hinata," she corrected.

"Right, right, Hinata," he dismissed, his eyes darting between her and Shino, who waited for the majority to leave the room before standing and heading their way. When he was close enough to hear, Kiba huffed. Maybe it was just the dog with him, but it sure sounded like a growl. "I guess we should all eat together and get to know each other and stuff. There's a balcony upstairs that's a good spot if nobody's got it yet."

Not having anything more preferable, Hinata nodded. Shino simply shrugged and headed for the door. This time Hinata was certain it was a growl – and not a puppy's.

A Hyuuga could generally get a decent feel for someone after a short interaction. It wasn't a life history, of course, but enough to start building a personality reference that byakugan could expand on. Kiba was practically as open a book with his emotions as Naruto, which made him easy to read. Shino on the other hand was a bit of an enigma. Too much of his face and body was covered to get a quick read on, and the parts there were visible showed nothing but calm. She'd need to take a look at him with byakugan if she ever wanted to get a serious read on him.

The balcony was still empty when they arrived. It was a nice view overlooking the village and with the day so clear it calmed Hinata to gaze out on the peaceful scene. Kiba and Shino took up opposite corners of the balcony, neither saying anything (Shino hadn't actually said a word since they met). It wasn't as if they were all close friends, Hinata reminded herself as she sat down a few feet away and unwrapped her bento. They all ate in silence for a few minutes, each sizing up the other.

Kiba was the first to speak up. "Let's make this simple. Every team needs a leader and obviously I'm it for this one. So just follow my lead and we'll be fine."

Hinata's smile strained, but she reluctantly nodded. It wasn't exactly what she was thinking –as far as she was concerned their jounin instructor would be the 'leader'– but she didn't feel like arguing with her teammates on their first day together. Besides, as much as Hyobe might want her to be one, Hinata wasn't a very good leader yet. From his corner Shino continued eating without even a glance up.

"Why don't we tell a little about each other," Hinata burst out before Kiba could enact any of the sinister thoughts rolling around on his face. "We're all from shinobi families. We–we should find out what we all can do that's family specific."

Kiba returned to his grumbling but calm demeanor. "Fine. I'm Inuzuka Kiba. This here's Akamaru," he said, pointing to the white dog on his head. "Inuzukas all use dogs. Me and Akamaru always fight together."

"He's adorable," Hinata said, fully meaning it as a compliment.

"He's a ninja dog," Kiba snapped. "Ninja dogs aren't adorable, they're fierce."

As if to discount everything his master said, Akamaru jumped from Kiba's head and trotted over to Hinata, happily nuzzling his face into her hand to be petted. From Shino's corner a distinctive snort could be heard.

"Akamaru! Stop that! Get back here now! You're a ninja dog, not some pet!"

Akamaru whined and licked Hinata's hand one last time before slinking back to his master. She'd wondered before, but now she was certain of it; it wasn't the scolding that made him shrink, but the words themselves. Akamaru was far more sentient than a normal dog.

"Well, how 'bout you, then," Kiba griped as he plopped the little dog back onto his head.

Hinata's eyes dropped from Kiba to her bento to the concrete balcony beneath her the more they stared at her. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. The Hyuugas have a bloodline technique called byakugan. It lets us see chakra and also perceive places outside our normal range of vision."

She was starting to get uncomfortable with them looking at her, but thankfully Shino stole away all remaining attention as he carefully set his chopsticks across his bento and set the black box down. "I'm Aburame Shino. My family works with kikaichuu," he said in a voice deeper than she would have pictured from his body. It made him sound older than her or Kiba.

"Kikaichuu?" Kiba questioned. "You mean, bugs?"

Shino nodded and raised his hand palm out for them to see. From beneath the cuff of his sleeve a couple small black bugs crawled out to roam across Shino's skin.

"Oh, seriously they're in your clothes!" Kiba gagged, dropping his lunch to the ground. "Did you have to do that right now? I just lost my appetite."

"Perhaps you need a stronger constitution," Shino remarked blandly.

"Wanna say that again!" Kiba yelled, knocking away his discarded lunch to tower over Shino.

A sweet, light laughter stopped all three in their tracks. "My, my, this is going to be an interesting team, don't you think, Hinata?"

Near the balcony door stood a woman in a white, strapped outfit and eyes redder than any Hinata had seen in the village. The friendly smile she wore belied the power her posture professed. She looked at Hinata and waited for an answer.

"Y–yes," Hinata replied quietly.

Kiba relaxed back from his almost fight, too curious to be angry. "Who're you?"

"Yuuhi Kurenai," the woman replied, holding up a friendly hand to wave. "Nice to meet you. I'll be your jounin instructor."

A woman instructor. Hinata didn't even realize how wonderful it could be until the woman was standing right in front of her. She'd prepared herself to be the only girl in the entire team; it hadn't even occurred to her she might get a female instructor. Now that she had, though, Hinata did several jigs of joy in her head. A female instructor was worth anything Kiba or Shino were like.

"So then," Kurenai started, examining each one in turn, "it looks like you three have been doing a good job getting to know each other's abilities. That's smart. Before you can fight as a team you have to know what each of you are capable of. And you're all going to need that very shortly."

"We've already got a mission?" Kiba shouted, excitement burning in his eyes like a flash fire.

"You could say that. But before we get to that, I need to ask you for your forehead protectors."

Shino was the one to ask the obvious question, yet it sounded much more serious since he took the effort to ask it. "Why do you need our forehead protectors?"

"For a very important reason that I'll tell you once you give them to me," she replied sweetly. She was hiding something, Hinata knew, but she saw no malice in the woman's face. In fact, she thought she saw hope.

Reluctantly each new genin handed over the very item that marked them as shinobi to the older woman before them. Kurenai looked over each one individually, smiling as she moved onto the next.

"These mean a lot to those who see it," she said, watching the three of them as she spoke. "These tell the village you're here to protect them. That you're willing to die for them. It's not something that's to be taken lightly or frivolously. Only a few people each year get to continue to wear these after they meet their instructors."

Kiba, Shino, and Hinata all exchanged a confused glance. Kiba stepped up, not wanting to look the coward in front of them. "What do you mean, after they meet their instructors? We passed the genin exam."

Kurenai chuckled and seemed to haze a bit around the edges. "The genin exam's only half the test. If your instructor doesn't believe you're ready, they can send you back to the academy. So let's see if you're worthy or not. If you get these back from me, you can keep them, but make sure you get all three or none will make it." Her whole body twisted and swirled into itself until nothing was left on the balcony but the empty air and three baffled genin.

"What the hell just happened?" Kiba shouted.

"A genjutsu," Hinata answered.

"A very good genjutsu," Shino amended as he stood up. "I didn't even see her make the seals."

"I know it's a genjutsu!" Kiba yelled back, Akamaru biting down on his hood to keep stable. "I mean what the hell is this crap about instructors sending us back to the academy? Did either of you know that?"

Both Hinata and Shino shook their heads. She was still trying to wrap her head around what Kurenai said. She'd finally been given the chance to be genin and she might not get it? No one ever told her that. Not even Neji or the twins. Earlier generations must get a kick out of hearing their children squirm after this instructor test, why else would they keep it such a secret.

"Dammit! They could've warned us about this," Kiba snarled. "Listen, leave it to me. Nothing can hide from an Inuzuka's nose."

Shino adjusted his glasses, and somehow the minute motion drew as much attention as Kiba's howling. "Actually, I already know where she went. I didn't like giving up my forehead protector, so I left a one of my kikaichuu on it. The rest are tracking her to the west of us."

Hinata had to give Shino credit. He didn't even have Hinata's ability to see the deception in Kurenai and he still prepared for something. Hinata wasn't sure he was anymore leader material than Kiba or her (leaders tended to need to talk), but he definitely was the best strategist in the team it seemed.

Hinata activated byakugan and searched to the west of them. Just as he said, Kurenai was on the run, two forehead protectors in her hand. "I found her," Hinata confirmed and readjusted byakugan to near sight, "she only has two forehead protectors with he– Ahh!"

Hinata stumbled back as she looked at Shino with byakugan still active. She just stood there, gawking. There wasn't anything she could do but gawk. "The–they're under your skin. Not your clothes, your skin. Inside you."

Shino idly raised his hand and looked at it. "I see, your ability lets you see through more than distance. Interesting."

"Wait, you mean those bugs are crawling all up and down inside him?" Kiba asked.

Shino sighed and pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to reveal his bare arm with small holes pockmarking his skin. From one of the holes a black bug peeked out to twitch in their direction before burrowing back in. "My kikaichuu live inside me and feed on my chakra."

Kiba furiously scratched at his arm as if bugs might appear beneath his own skin. "How much freakier can you get?"

"You wear a dog as a hat," Shino countered.

"He's not a hat!" Kiba yelled. "That's just the easiest place for him to sit."

This wasn't turning out quite the way Hinata thought it would. She didn't mean to start a fight between them; she just hadn't been prepared to see thousands of bugs crawling along Shino's chakra veins. It was still a little unnerving to look at.

"Um, we should really go after Kurenai-sensei," Hinata interrupted. "She's getting further away, and she only has two forehead protectors with her."

Kiba glared at Shino and on his head Akamaru rumbled with a high pitched growl. Shino on the other hand remained as impassive as before. If Hinata could bring herself to look at him with byakugan again she might have finally seen something beyond the glasses and high collar, but she was still a little squeamish at seeing the bugs crawling inside him. That was going to take some time to get used to.

"We should locate the missing forehead protector before going after her," Shino suggested. "If all three are important then we should acquire as many as she leaves in traps for us before going after a jounin directly."

"Hey, we decided that I was going to be leader of this team," Kiba shouted.

Shino turned away and looked to the west. "I made no such agreement."

Hinata held up her hands to try and stop the argument from going into a fight before they 'officially' made genin. "Kiba-kun, you said you could find Kurenai-sensei, can you find the missing forehead protector instead? I could start searching, but it'd take a lot of time without a general idea of where it is."

Being looked to for help seemed to mollify his ego enough for him to focus again. Kiba smirked and tapped his nose. "Nothing can hide from an Inuzuka's nose."

"It must be yours or Hinata's, my bugs still sense mine moving," Shino informed them.

Kiba glared at Shino but spun away from them to focus, turning his head as he breathed in deeply. With byakugan still active, Hinata could see the flow of chakra in Kiba's head shift and concentrate inside his nasal cavities. Akamaru leapt down from his perch on Kiba to sniff around the area Kurenai disappeared from.

"You have her, Akamaru?" Kiba asked; Akamaru yipped in reply. The smirk that curled his lips revealed canine-like fangs and was more a wolf on the hunt than a man on a mission. "You both just follow me now. Try to keep up."

Kiba leapt from the balcony and headed for the tree line to the west with Akamaru in quick pursuit. Kiba wasn't kidding when he said to keep up. He was fast. What was more amazing was Akamaru kept up with him, as small of a dog as he was. That must've been what it meant to be a ninja dog. Shino and Hinata were pushing it just to keep pace with them, while neither Kiba nor Akamaru seemed winded in the least.

Now that she had a general direction, Hinata shifted back to byakugan's telescopic vision to see what they were running directly into. Not too far ahead of them a small clearing in the trees glowed of chakra as if the grass had been cut through with streaks of blue flame. In the center of the clearing the image of Kurenai stood, but no chakra was inside her.

"There's another genjutsu ahead," Hinata warned them. "A clone of Kurenai-sensei and a lot of chakra around."

"Our instructor appears skilled in genjutsu," Shino remarked.

"A clone's just an illusion. It can't do anything," Kiba scoffed, picking up speed to barrel right into the mass of blazing chakra. "Me and Akamaru can handle a measly clone. Leave this to us."

"Kiba-kun, wait," Hinata called, but it was too late. When they sprinted ahead, both he and Akamaru easily outpaced Shino and Hinata.

"He's running right into a trap," Shino commented, and Hinata thought she heard something in his voice different from before. He spoke so little and with such an even tone, though, that it was hard to pick up on the quirks. (And she still kept sight of him with byakugan active to a minimum.)

"We should hurry," Hinata said.

Shino's only reply was to speed up.

Hinata refocused byakugan on the quickly approaching clearing just as Kiba and Akamaru arrived at it. The Kurenai clone smiled as dog and master walked deeper into the clearing, within the boundary of the chakra veins lining the ground. She raised her illusionary hands and a spike a chakra flashed through her body as if she were real only to shoot through the grass at her intruders. As fast as the chakra burst alive in Kurenai, Kiba and Akamaru dropped to the ground.

"Shino-kun, wait!" Hinata called, stopping on a branch outside the clearing. "The clone did something to Kiba-kun. Shino-kun?"

Shino was gone. The clearing was gone. Kiba and Akamaru were gone. Trees surrounded her all the way into the darkness beyond. She was alone. All alone. And the darkness was creeping closer.

"It's just a genjutsu," she told herself. "The darkness isn't real. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are nearby. I just have to break the chakra link and end it."

_. . . you can't . . . alone . . . you're alone . . ._

Hinata searched the woods for the voice, but not even byakugan penetrated the creeping darkness. She deactivated byakugan, closed her eyes, and just breathed. "It's only a genjutsu. I can break it. It's only a genjutsu."

_. . . trapped alone . . . can't leave . . . can't escape . . ._

"I can . . ." Her body wouldn't move anymore.

_. . . alone . . ._

"Hinata."

Her eyes snapped open. The sun filtered through the treetops and cast moving speckles over Shino's face as he stared at her. His hand rested firmly on her shaking arm to ground her back into reality. She didn't know if it was concern hidden behind those dark shades, but his presence comforted her nonetheless.

"It's all right now," he said, looking toward the clearing. "I've deactivated the trap."

She nodded and took a breath to settle her trembling body. "How'd I get caught in the genjutsu? I didn't see any chakra this far out, and that was only a clone. It shouldn't have been able to use a genjutsu on me?"

"Not just you. We all were caught in it," he explained. Leaning past her to the tree trunk, Shino ripped off a seal tag pinned to the tree. "Where I landed had one of these, too. It was storing chakra. I bet we'll find more in the clearing."

"So the clone was there to make the seals and activate the stored chakra," Hinata concluded. "That's really impressive genjutsu. How'd you deactivate the trap?"

Shino motioned for her to follow him and they continued to the clearing. Kiba and Akamaru were both shaking out their heads when they arrived. In the center where the Kurenai clone had stood a small mound of bugs scurried back to their home carrying a forehead protector.

"What the hell happened?" Kiba asked.

"You ran into a trap," Shino commented and took the forehead protector from the bugs as they crawled back beneath his clothes. "Unfortunately, we did too."

"Then don't act so high and mighty," Kiba shouted only to grab his head in pain.

"I figured we might," Shino continued evenly, "so I ordered my kikaichuu to continue on and find the forehead protector if we did. A genjutsu affects a part of the brain bugs don't have; even if I get caught, they're immune. I figured if we retrieved the forehead protector, the illusions around it would end, which they did."

"And what if they hadn't," Kiba snarled, now pissed off _and_ in pain.

"My kikaichuu feed on chakra. They would've interrupted the flow of chakra causing the genjutsu and freed me."

"Then we're lucky to have someone resistant to genjutsu in our team," Hinata said. She could see the chakra around a genjutsu to try and avoid it, but once caught she was just as susceptible.

"I doubt that," Shino replied. "She must know what our abilities are. If she truly wanted to keep us from getting this forehead protector she wouldn't have left such an obvious opening."

"You mean she wanted us to get it?" Hinata asked.

Shino nodded and held out the forehead protector to Hinata. "If this is another test, it's safe to assume the goal is for us to pass, not to fail."

"So let's go finish this damn thing already," Kiba growled with an excited smile burning on his face. "I gotta get back at her for what she made me see in that damn genjutsu anyway."

The muscles in Shino's face twitched in a way reminiscent of a smile but not strong enough to form one. What his face lacked, his posture made up for. He was just as ready to go after Kurenai as Kiba and the excitement she saw in them (muted as it was in Shino) was infectious. Perhaps it was simply no longer feeling that intense 'alone' she did in the genjutsu, but being with them gave Hinata confidence. She tied the forehead protector around her neck and nodded. One down, two to go.

"Akamaru, let's go!" Kiba yelled as he jumped into the trees. Hinata and Shino followed suit, though a few bugs flew out of Shino's collar to confirm Kiba's direction.

"Hinata," Shino called back, "can you see if it's another trap?"

She nodded and activated byakugan. Her vision stretched through the woods, beyond the walls of the village, and onto the river shore. There Kurenai, the real chrakra-filled Kurenai, sat against the trunk of a tree idly scribbling in a little book. Loosely tied to her wrist was a single forehead protector.

"She's at the river," Hinata informed them. "I only see one forehead protector though, and no large masses of chakra that might be a genjutsu hiding the other."

"She must have it hidden, cause I smell 'em both with her," Kiba yelled back with an approving yip from Akamaru.

"Mine's there, at least," Shino amended, earning another growl from Kiba. Hinata was beginning to wonder if Shino didn't care or if he just enjoyed annoying Kiba.

When they passed the village wall, Kiba slowed enough to match his teammates. "Spread out before we reach her, that way we can go after her from multiple sides," he ordered with excitement dripping from his fangy smile.

Shino and Hinata agreed and spread out around the woods; Kiba following the straight path while the others flanked on either side. Hinata slipped through the foliage the closer she got until she was fully concealed on the woods line with Kurenai in sight. Kiba didn't barrel in this time, both he and Shino remained hidden to wait for an opening. If Kurenai sensed them coming, she didn't let on. She lounged against the tree writing in that notebook as casually as when Hinata saw her with byakugan.

Fifteen minutes passed and no one moved. Finally Kurenai closed her notebook and stretched out against the tree trunk. Her red eyes scanned the woods as a clear song danced through the air. "Three little ninjas sitting in the trees, all too afraid to come after me."

A loud bark echoed to Hinata's left and she saw the fur top of Kiba's jacket running through the leaves. Hinata knew he was loud-mouthed, but he must be hot-tempered to fall for so obvious of an insult, too. Kurenai was on her feet before the first echo faded, and a kunai cut a path straight for Kiba.

"Puppies need to learn not to take the bait so easily," Kurenai teased.

The brush rustled where she'd thrown her kunai and out jumped Akamaru with Kiba's jacket tied around his neck. The little white dog yipped once with a face that –human or not– was downright taunting. Kurenai whipped around barely in time to dodge Kiba coming in from behind.

Kiba laughed as he skidded to a stop on all fours next to Akamaru. "This dog knows a few tricks."

The haze was about to shroud Kurenai again, but a wave of bugs descended from the tree she'd been laying under earlier like a black blanket falling from the sky to envelope her.

"I was handling it!" Kiba shouted as Shino exited the trees.

"Who finishes it doesn't matter as long as we get the forehead protectors," Shino replied, holding out a hand to recall his kikaichuu.

Hinata remained hidden in the trees. Something felt wrong. She watched the trails of chakra as the two boys argued. Even if Shino's bugs ate chakra, there wasn't enough in the mass to account for a jounin class shinobi. She followed the lingering wisps that colored the air back to Shino and a second more powerful chakra system standing behind him.

"You'd better be sure your target's there before you reveal yourself," Kurenai said.

One hand wrapped around his neck as her knee shot into his side, and with one strong twist, Kurenai heaved Shino back into the trees. The kikaichuu buzzed through the air to reach Kurenai, but she pulled out several more kunai and threw them at where Shino lay forcing the swarm to change direction to protect their home.

With Shino temporarily dealt with, Kurenai returned her attention to Kiba and Akamaru. She raised the arm with the forehead protector and waved. "Come and get it."

"You asked for it," Kiba laughed. "Akamaru! Beast Human Clone!"

Akamaru leapt onto his master as smoke hid them from normal view. To byakugan's sight, Kiba's chakra flooded out and consumed Akamaru in a mirror transformation of Kiba. The only difference Hinata could see even with byakugan was a slight hum of chakra around what had once been Akamaru. So that was what a ninja dog could do.

Hinata could hardly believe what she was seeing. Both Kiba and Akamaru-Kiba rampaged on all fours like animals and their speed seemed even faster than before. Kurenai had to work to stay out of reach. She disappeared into genjustu a few times and used a replacement technique once when Kiba got too close for comfort. Hinata wanted to help, but she was having difficulty keeping up with their movements.

How much use was she going to be to this team? Both Kiba and Shino could track as well as her in their own ways, she couldn't break a genjutsu even when she knew she was in one, and there was no way her taijutsu could match the speed or intensity Kiba displayed. Her jyuuken was only average for a Hyuuga anyway. She was just going to be a third wheel dragging them down.

"Hell yeah!" Kiba howled, dragging Hinata's attention back to the fight. Akamaru, now restored to his puppy form, ran back to Kiba with a blue cloth dangling from either side of his mouth. He'd gotten the second forehead protector. Kiba took it from his partner and sniffed. "Oh damn, it's Shino's. Where's mine? I want it back."

Kurenai stood a few feet from the water's edge. Pride and annoyance fought for control of her face, but both were quickly squashed beneath a smug smirk. With slow, sensuous delight, Kurenai dipped into her top and tugged out the last forehead protector from against her chest. The longer it too for the last of the blue cloth to leave her clothes, the redder Hinata's face burned. She couldn't image hiding something in a place like that.

"Boys are too easy sometimes," Kurenai chuckled.

Hinata turned back to Kiba, his eyes glazed over in genjutsu and a small line of blood dripped from his nose.

"Well then," Kurenai said as she tied the remaining forehead protector to the same arm as before, "the pups are out for a while, and Shino probably has a few more minutes before he wakes up, so who's going to get this last one? If no one comes soon I'll have to assume the team failed."

Kurenai was talking to her, waiting for Hinata to make a move. Hinata didn't know how she could go up against Kurenai, not after watching Shino and Kiba, but she wasn't going to let them all fail because she thought she couldn't do it by herself. That was what she wanted to change, and if Hinata didn't try now, she didn't deserve to be a genin. She just wished she had an idea how to do it.

Hinata quietly slipped through the trees looking for any kind of opening. Kurenai's eyes were alert; her posture, while appearing relaxed, was defensive; there were no openings. She'd have to get close to use jyuuken, but Kurenai was too far from the trees to make any attack stealthy. And if Kurenai was as skilled in genjutsu as they thought, she'd spot a clone in a second. Hinata knew she couldn't wait forever, but every attack seemed impossible. She'd never get close enough to grab the forehead protector.

Kurenai threw her arms behind her neck and began whistling to herself as she walked lazily along the shore. Byakugan might give Hinata insight to her instructor, but it didn't help. She could see Shino was right; the snippet of hope Hinata'd noticed before this trial started was obvious in Kurenai's face. She wanted them to succeed, but that hope was tempered by a serious responsibility. If they didn't pass the test, she'd send them back to the academy. Hinata could just imagine what her grandfather would say if she was denied by her instructor.

A flicker of colored chakra caught Hinata's enhanced sight as Kurenai paced along the shore. Hinata watched her feet carefully: the small impressions made in the soften mud; the slight pivot on the right indicating a dominant side; and then the flash of chakra under the soles of her feet as she stepped, not into, but _onto_ the water's edge. The chakra became a barrier against the surface tension of the water keeping her from sinking. If she created the barrier so unconsciously for that little water, then surely she could fully walk on it.

The plan rolled and tumbled into place in Hinata's mind as she watched the light blue flicker of chakra come and go under her instructor's feet. She just had to get Kurenai onto the river. It was the only chance she had.

Hinata retrieved a handful of kunai from her pouch and carefully followed the trajectory of each one in her head the way Neji had taught her (courtesy of Tenten's tutelage). Hinata needed to get it right the first time; a long fight of endurance would only work against her plan. She waited until Kurenai was making her turn nearest to Kiba and Akamaru and let them fly, arcing around her still genjutsu-trapped teammates to force Kurenai back onto the water as Hinata rushed from the opposite side. There was too much distance for a surprise attack, but the kunai kept Kurenai from coming to counter away from the shore.

"Ah, there you are, Hinata," Kurenai said pleasantly as she easily dodged the first few palm strikes and jumped back further onto the river to avoid a well-aimed leg sweep. She smiled and brushed off her one red sleeve as if this were nothing more than a friendly spar. "You know you're the only one without an animal for me to think of you as. It seems wrong. I should give you one."

"I'm not very fond of animal nicknames, actually," Hinata replied. She was still main house mouse to plenty in the clan.

"Ah, too bad," Kurenai sighed.

Gingerly, Hinata placed her foot out onto the water and let the chakra swell beneath the sole. Kurenai watched with curious anticipation as Hinata's foot sunk beneath the surface for a moment and then returned to the top. Hinata braved a second foot, sinking a little further when all her weight was on the water but not to riverbed below. She studied the flow of chakra in Kurenai's feet and adjusted her own to match until she was close enough to the surface to not be slowed down by the drag.

Kurenai whistled a high-pitched catcall. "I knew Hyuugas were especially talented with chakra control, but that's impressive. Did you learn that watching me?"

Hinata nodded. "It does help to see how you're chakra moves."

"Now you just have to catch me," she heckled.

Ripples spread over the still water's surface like footprints until the entire river prickled and jumped at attention. Kurenai avoided all Hinata's strikes, aided not only by experience but also by a much more solid footing. Hinata's chakra control was good, but she'd never walked on water before, let alone tried to fight on it.

She spun to make a palm strike to Kurenai's side and ended up knee deep in water when her chakra shifted to attack. Kurenai took quick advantage of her position and raised her leg to make an end-strike, forcing Hinata to halt all the chakra in her body and sink beneath the surface. The current dragged her a few feet before she was able to ground herself and hold steady on the riverbed.

It may have looked like she'd been desperate, but this was what she wanted all along. She knew she couldn't out fight Kurenai, and Hinata didn't have Kiba's speed to out run her in a direct confrontation or Shino's bugs to flank her from behind. What she did have was an understanding of the inner coils system and the ability to hold her breath for a very long time.

Hinata waited on the bottom and watched Kurenai search for where she'd resurface. She relaxed her body and stretched her neck high to give the air in her lungs as much room to expand as possible to hold off the pressure pain a little longer. The more compacted the body, the sooner the need to exhale attacked, and she needed to stay under long enough to be properly positioned without Kurenai catching her.

The few reeds and roots growing along the riverbed served as handholds as she fought against the current to reach the spot directly beneath Kurenai. The need to exhale beat in her cheat begging to be released, but she couldn't risk letting even a little air out the way she normally would to extend her time underwater without risking Kurenai noticing the bubbles surfacing. Instead Hinata quickly made the seal for the clone jutsu and ushered her copy to surface in front of her instructor. She didn't need it to be believable to an expert in genjutsu, she only needed that momentary distraction.

The want for air burned inside her, but she ignored it. Only a few more seconds. The clone burst from the water's surface and Hinata saw what she needed. The instant Kurenai's chakra dug into the water to fortify her movement, Hinata pushed off the riverbed and landed two solid palm strikes into Kurenai's feet, dispersing her chakra and plummeting her into the water. Before Kurenai was fully submerged, Hinata grabbed Kurenai's waist between her feet, slipped her hand into the loose blue cloth around Kurenai's wrist, and shoved off with all the strength left in her oxygen-starved body.

Air never tasted so sweet. Hinata let byakugan recede as she coughed out the pain burrowed deep in her lungs. She hadn't held her breath that long since she used to do breathing exercises at the compound pond, but now she was glad she did them. The blue cloth band was darker from being wet, and she had a feeling the stinging in her wrist indicated she'd pulled something wrenching it from Kurenai the way she did, but Hinata was holding it. She'd gotten the last forehead protector.

"You know, I hadn't planned on a bath till I got home," Kurenai remarked as she climbed back onto the river's surface. Her already wild hair now shot off in a mass of wet tangles clinging to her smiling face. She walked the short distance to where Hinata treaded water and held out a welcoming hand. "Congratulations, Hinata. Let's go check on the boys before Kiba decides he wants to stay in the genjutsu."

"We passed?" Hinata asked, almost too afraid to believe it was true.

Kurenai pulled her from the water and held her up until she reclaimed her shaky chakra footing. This time Hinata didn't need byakugan to see the pride in Kurenai's crimson eyes. "Three students, three tests. You all passed better than I'd expected. I definitely never thought you'd take me onto the river."

Hinata dropped her eyes to the tapering ripples on the water and hoped her face wasn't getting redder than the fight could cover up. "I've used swimming in training before."

On shore Shino was making his way to meet them, obviously accepting there was some conclusion from their calm demeanor. He favored the side Kurenai hit in his movement and was rubbing a nice colored bruise on his neck (Kurenai _had_ chucked him into that tree pretty hard). Hinata held up Kiba's forehead protector in success and Shino nodded approvingly.

"Congratulations, Shino," Kurenai called, "you're a proper genin now."

"That was the third one?" he asked. A couple bugs flew out from his sleeve and headed for Kiba, who was still trapped in the genjutsu. They landed on the forehead protector clenched in Kiba's hand and seemed happy, if bugs could be happy, to have returned to it finally.

Kurenai stood in front of Kiba and shook her head. A small line of blood dripped from his nose to the growing splotch on the front of his gray jacket.

"I know I made it entertaining," she chuckled, "but the boy could have some decency."

A distinctive muffled scoff came from Shino's direction, though no outward change occurred in his stoic demeanor.

Kurenai shook a warning finger at Shino. "Careful, I may use this on you one day, too."

Shino merely looked away, his ears a little redder than before.

Kurenai laughed and winked at Hinata. "Like I said, sometimes boys are too easy."

With a quick spike of chakra, Kurenai severed the genjutsu holding Kiba and Akamaru, which elicited a whine of disapproval from the white puppy who'd been rolled over on his back pawing at the air.

Kiba jumped back and searched around frantically. "What happened? Where'd they go? What's going on?"

Hinata's face went ten times redder than Shino's ears had tinted. _They?_ Suddenly Hinata had the feeling a female instructor was going to be a double-edge sword.

"Congratulations, Kiba. You're all officially genin," Kurenai said, a motherly smile warming her expression as she looked on all three of her students.

Hinata handed over Kiba's forehead protector, an embarrassed color darkening her cheeks. "Sorry it's wet."

"You two look worse," Kiba joked as he eyed Hinata and Kurenai's soppy new fashion. He tossed Shino his forehead protector after Shino's bugs started crawling over his hand in irritation. (It was rather amusing to Hinata that Shino's bugs were a better indication of his mood than his face.)

Kurenai sat down on the grass and waved them all to join her. "Well, I'm pleased to say you all exceeded my expectations, but that was more than a test to be genin. I wanted to see how well you worked together, how you worked by yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses. I hope that all of you were able to see the same thing."

Kiba growled under his breath a little, not wanting to admit weakness even as it stared him the face in the form of a large bloodstain on his jacket. Kurenai smirked, but otherwise ignored him.

"More importantly than that though, there's one thing I want you to understand from this test. It's the reason why each of you found someone else's forehead protector," Kurenai said to the dumbfounded genin. "When you're on a mission, it's not your life you'll be responsible for, it's each other's. You're a team and if one person's hurt, all of you are hurt. You fight for each other, that's why you had to pass this test for each other first. This team is going to become an extension of your family, and whether you like each other or not, should you ever fail to keep each other safe, you'll mourn for them as deeply as a brother or a sister."

All three sat in silence for a moment; even Kiba seemed affected by Kurenai's last comment. It was hard to imagine being so close to two boys that only that morning she hadn't known beyond than their names and who even after the test she still wasn't sure how to talk to or what to think of them. Yet she could see the truth etched on Kurenai's face like old battle scars.

Kurenai continued, her voice heavy with intent. "I have one order that will be in place until this team is disbanded. Protect each other, and make sure all three of you always come home. And that order you're not allowed to disobey."


	21. An Imperfect Picnic

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

Just a side note for anyone who wants to know the full history behind Shibi and Tsume, go check out my Aburame story "How to Marry the Girl of Your Dreams". Considering the idea for team dinner was originally going to be a sequel to that story, I simply couldn't resist bringing in that back story. You don't _need_ to read it, but some of their comments will probably be funnier if you do.

* * *

Naomi rearranged the place setting for the fifth time since the servants started preparing it that morning. Hizashi teased her she was too much of a perfectionist sometimes, but Naomi preferred to think of herself as merely detail-oriented. And right now the details just weren't working.

"Hinata, do the dogs eat at the table or on the ground?" she asked, still unsure if they needed another table set up or not.

Hinata kicked at the grass as she waited on the bench set up next to the make-shift picnic tables, having long since given up on trying to help satisfy her aunt's neurosis. "I don't know really. When we eat Akamaru is usually in Kiba's jacket. When he's not he gets his own plate, though."

"I knew I should've gone with picnic sheets on the ground," Naomi huffed, completely disgruntled with her preparations.

Unlike Neji's team dinner, Naomi had taken a suggestion made by Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's older sister and the one who helped arrange the Inuzuka family timetable for Naomi, to have an outdoor meal considering the number of animals that would be joining them. The dogs were, after all, part of their family and all three coming had one. Now Naomi wished she'd asked Hana more about the dogs before today. She wasn't even sure if they'd be eating with them or not. Hinata had said Akamaru was especially sentient for a dog, which made sense from the few times she'd work with ninja animals.

At least the menu shouldn't hurt the dogs if they did eat. She'd planned on bringing out the food when it was ready, but when Hizashi heard 'outdoor' he said (demanded) that it had to be yakiniku. It would be like fair food, he told her. Naomi almost laid out his festival yukata for him today as a joke. She had to admit though, now that the charcoal was heated up, the smell in the yard _did_ remind her of a fair.

"Hinata, go get Neji and your uncle," Naomi ordered. "Your teammates should be here anytime now."

"No need, Naomi, we're here," Hizashi called from the side porch. Neji hurried ahead of him to drop off a huge serving plate of skewered meat ready for the grill before going to talk with Hinata.

It still amazed Naomi how much Neji was starting to look like his father at his age and how very old that realization made her feel. It was hard to believe he _and_ Hinata were both genin already. A part of her would never forget those two little children curled up against each other as they slept. A part of her wanted it back.

A soft caress across her hand pulled Naomi out of her reverie and back to the knowing smile on her husband's lips. He leaned in and gently pressed his cheek to hers, lingering there longer than normal. "We could always have more," he whispered with a suggestive chuckle.

"Remind me that when you're the one carrying it," she whispered back, adding a quick kiss on the cheek for good measure.

It wasn't that Naomi had never considered the idea. A few years before some maternal urgings that came with age had her dreaming of another child. A new baby to fill the empty halls left silent by the two children growing up without her. But the more she thought about it, about what it would mean for her and Hizashi to have another child while living in the main house, the more it frightened her. There were already too many rumors and whispers about Neji being preferable to Hinata as heir, but those were kept in check because Neji was sealed already. If they were to have another child, Naomi feared Hyobe wouldn't seal it right away. She feared he'd wait to see if it showed more potential than Hinata and if it did . . .

For better or for worse, being heir was a part of Hinata's identity. She didn't always like it, but she worked every day to _try_ and live up to it. If there was another option that surpassed her and Hyobe took the right of heir from Hinata, Naomi couldn't even fathom the damage it would do to her. Hinata's self-esteem could be fragile sometimes, but to be was replaced by her own cousin after all she went through– Naomi couldn't do it to her. Besides, even if that scenario never happened, Naomi didn't want the first child Hinata sealed to be theirs. Naomi wasn't sure anyone in the family would be able to handle that.

It wasn't as if they were lacking anything, though. Neji and Hinata, grown or not, were still their children and that was more than enough for Naomi. The fact that Hinata finally seemed to be coming into herself without needing Neji was an added blessing. She didn't think simply making her genin would fix the problems building between those two, but it seemed to serve as a catalyst. All the anger and loneliness Hinata had suppressed since Neji turned genin had been let go. Every once in a while Naomi still saw the old Hinata looking out on Neji to be taken care of, but he no longer took the bait and soon enough the dependence would leave her eyes. No matter what Hyobe thought, Naomi finally understood what Hizashi saw before. Hinata needed to leave the clan for a while, and Naomi had no doubts it would make her a better leader one day.

"Akamaru, wait up!" screamed a voice in the distance, drawing everyone's attention to the small white dog bounding straight for Hinata.

Not far behind was the yelling boy. Naomi wasn't quite sure what it was about him, but something looked unkempt. It wasn't necessarily his clothes, his blue shirt and black pants were both clean and unwrinkled and his expression was pleasant enough. It was in his eyes, thin slits of black, and his hair, brushed but wild, that gave him an almost feral aura – as much animal as boy.

Just beyond him one of the twins (Naomi gave up on telling them apart) was escorting two women, one no more than eighteen, Hana, and one close to their age, Tsume. Both had the same red markings of the Inuzuka clan on their cheeks like the boy, but while Tsume also possessed that feral atmosphere around her, Hana appeared composed and proper in comparison. Following alongside the women were not two, but _four_ dogs. That made five in total. Naomi had prepared for three. She knew she should have put out another table.

"I told you we didn't need an escort to find our way," Tsume called loud enough for everyone to hear even from a distance. "If Kiba couldn't find his own teammate he doesn't deserve to be an Inuzuka."

"Clan protocol," Hizashi answered to save the twin with them the need to reply. Not many people could do it, but Tsume actually appeared to intimidate the boy escorting her.

"Seems stupid, we're in the village after all," Tsume replied. A sliver of insult was in her voice.

"Mom, that's why we're here, remember," Hana said diplomatically, "so there won't be a need for this again."

"And what's so high and mighty about the Hyuugas that they don't trust their own village?" Tsume ruffed.

"It's not that we don't trust the village, but there've been incidents in the compound and it's caused us to be cautious, especially since Hinata's the heir to the clan," Hizashi explained, though Naomi caught the glimpse of irritation hidden beneath that pleasant expression.

Tsume clapped Hana on the shoulder and bellowed a laugh strong enough to shake leaves from the trees. "Maybe we should lend them some of our pups so the Hyuugas can stop being so '_cautious_'. A couple runts should do the job."

Hana sighed and offered Naomi and Hizashi an apologetic grin. "Mom, can't you be nice today, for Kiba."

Naomi wasn't sure if it was a snort, a growl, or a scoff, but some kind of rumbling, phlegmy sound escaped Tsume's throat. "Nice? Did I not agree to be in the presence of that stalker and _not _kill him?"

"Wait, kill who?" Naomi quickly joined her husband and the two women, no longer satisfied to let family squabbling to continue unquestioned.

Hana answered her mother without noticing (or at least acknowledging) Naomi's interruption. "You refused to not maim him when I asked you."

"Eh, maiming can be healed," Tsume dismissed.

"Excuse me," Naomi jumped in loud enough neither could ignore, "but who're you talking about?"

Tsume growled. "That buggy bastard."

"Mom and Shibi-san don't get along," Hana explained, "at all."

"All right then, why don't we meet the kids while we wait?" Hizashi said, diverting the conversation before Tsume could think up any more malicious ideas. Judging by the fanged smirk twisting Tsume's lips, rending flesh from bone was getting close to the top of her list. Naomi was beginning to think she'd rather have Gai back than deal with whatever history was between Tsume and Shibi.

"Perhaps we should introduce ourselves properly," Hana said in a peace offering as they joined Neji, Hinata, and Kiba over by the tables. "I'm Hana, and these three grey ones are the Haimaru Brothers, they're my partners." The three matching dogs all barked in agreement. Hana looked at her mother and for a moment her eyes turned as feral as her family's.

"Fine," Tsume huffed, "I'm Tsume (as if you didn't know), and this here's Kuromaru." She rubbed the black and white dog's surviving ear above the eye patch it wore. "Kuromaru, be nice and say hello."

Kuromaru dipped his muzzle to the ground. "Hello."

Tsume and Kuromaru burst out laughing at the shocked expressions on the Hyuugas' faces. "That never get's old," the dog rumbled to his mistress.

"Kuromaru is one of the few dogs in the family that can speak," Hana explained, once again playing the diplomat for her mother.

Naomi had decided; she really would have preferred any part of Gai to Tsume in general. If her son resembled her as much in personality as he did in appearance, even Hinata's patience might end up being tested.

"Anyway," Hana continued, since her mother was still too busy laughing to finish the introductions, "this is my little brother Kiba and his partner, Akamaru."

Akamaru padded across the table, carefully avoiding any place settings already out, and yipped happily. The size difference between the dogs was striking. Akamaru must have only been a puppy still to be so small. Hana's dogs looked about average for large dogs, but Tsume's Kuromaru was practically a small pony.

"Is Akamaru going to get as big as yours," Naomi asked.

"There's no real way of telling how big one of our dogs will get until they're grown. We've had bigger than Kuromaru before," Tsume answered. It was the first thing she'd said that wasn't somehow insulting to someone. They'd made progress.

"Well," Naomi said, "I'm Naomi. This is Hizashi; our son, Neji; and our niece, Hinata, who is of course the one in your son's team."

Tsume pushed past Hana and leaned in to take a good, long examination of Hinata. Her brow twitched as Hinata stepped back under her scrutiny and closed in again, sniffing Hinata this time.

"She's too timid," Tsume summed up, finally stepping back again. "I can practically smell the submission in her."

"I think that's enough," Hizashi demanded.

Naomi never considered the Hyuugas as uppity as some in the village thought. They were an old clan and relied more on tradition than most families, but there was something to be said about not insulting your hosts!

"Oh, get off your high horse," Tsume snapped. "I'm trying to teach your girl here how to handle Kiba. He's a hot-headed idiot and if someone doesn't knock some sense into him once in a while he's gonna get himself killed. And I sure as hell ain't gonna leave it to an Aburame. Now watch." She yanked Kiba over to her and landed a solid punch on the top of his head. "_That's_ how you handle Kiba."

"Mom!" Kiba barked, embarrassment clear on his young face as he cradled his head.

"Oh, if you can't take that flimsy punch you should quit being a genin now," she scolded and turned back to Hinata. "Now, let's see how hard you can hit."

A howl broke through all the mixed tensions in the yard before anyone (including Hizashi and Naomi) physically intervened in the uncouth and unexpected turn their meeting had gone. Kuromaru bore his teeth into a terrifying, snarling smile. "He's here."

Everyone turned to see the Aburame family being calmly escorted towards them. The man and boy both wore outfits easily recognizable as Aburame, while the woman was wearing a simple summer dress. Tsume moved forward slowly as if not wanting to spook her prey, with Kuromaru at her side. A deep rumble echoed in her throat and her smirk grew as snarling as her dog's. Across the yard the man of the family slowed, his hands down but tense. Too much of his face was covered for Naomi to get a read of his intentions. He tilted his head as he squared off against Tsume.

"Hello Stalker-kun," Tsume growled with delight. "Caught anyone lately?"

"Inuzuka," the Aburame replied in a deep, even voice. "How's your brother?"

This was not how Naomi envisioned dinner going. She'd made plans. Worked very hard to ensure everything was as perfect as possible. A crazy woman with a rampaging dog and a swarm of bugs flying out to destroy them _was not_ in her plans. It was nowhere in her plans! Was this really how they acted in front of their children?

Just as they were about to collide and –as Hana put it– thoroughly maim each other, ruining the entire attempt at dinner before their jounin instructor even arrived, the Aburame mother casually stepped between them. The swarm stopped instantaneously, rolling and tumbling into itself to avoid touching the woman. On the other side Tsume and Kuromaru skidded to a halt, their eyes fixated on the woman. No one moved.

"Kuromaru!" the woman squealed, "how's my favorite puppy dog?" She descended on the enormous dog, scratching his neck until he rolled over to give her access to his chest. All the while his tail wagged and wagged at the attention.

"_Aoi!_" Tsume yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you not to turn my ninja dog into a whimpering puppy?"

"Don't complain to me. It's the only way I can keep you and Shibi from trying to kill each other," the woman said. She flashed a serious look back to her husband and the swarm obediently returned beneath his jacket.

Naomi silently prayed this woman was as sane as she seemed. It might be the only way to salvage the dinner.

"Holy shit!" Kiba exclaimed, running up to stand with his sister. "How'd she do that to Kuromaru? No one can do that to Kuromaru!"

"Aoi-san can," Hana replied with a smile.

"Aburame Aoi," the woman called to them all from her spot on the ground, "I'd come greet you properly but if I don't finish with Kuromaru he'll get grumpy and might try attacking my husband again." The cheerfulness of her voice completely contradicted her words, yet for the first time since Tsume came, Naomi got the impression the wild woman was under control.

The remaining Aburames joined them near the tables as Aoi continued a serious petting regimen with Kuromaru, all the while Tsume continued to yell at her partner at how un-ninja-dog-like behavior he was showing. On the other hand, the man who'd just been about to engage in serious battle with their other guest appeared as calm as if the encounter had never occurred.

"Aburame Shibi," he said, and then with a nod to the boy beside him, "My son, Shino."

The same way mother and son resembled each other in the Inuzuka family, father and son were practically spitting images. The only difference was where Tsume and Kiba professed wild energy, Shibi and Shino were calm reserve. Fire and ice and Hinata in the middle. Naomi was starting to feel far sorrier for her niece than she did for Neji having to deal with Gai. Hizashi and Hana offered another round of introductions on their end as Tsume, Kuromaru, and Aoi finally returned to the group.

"I still want to know how Shino's mom could do that to Kuromaru," Kiba insisted.

"Tsume and I were on the same genin team," Aoi chirped. "I've trained Kuromaru to be a good boy for me since he was smaller than your pup there. It came in handy when I started dating Shibi."

Suddenly Naomi felt more secure about having Tsume and Shibi near each other at all. Obviously this woman had long since learned how to handle them both. Naomi smiled and relaxed a little (a very little). "It's rare to have two girls on a team together," she commented.

"We weren't the only team that way," Aoi replied. "We were in one of the few years that had too many girls."

"Tsume was man enough for them all," Shibi muttered.

Tsume grabbed his jacket collar and stared into the blank black glasses covering his eyes. "Wanna say that again, Stalker?"

"Tsume, Shibi, we're not here to hash out old arguments," Aoi scolded, shoving them both apart again. "We're here for our children and the focus will be for them, not either of your bruised egos, is that clear?"

Tsume and Shibi shirked away from each other, but they were quiet about it.

Aoi just shook her head. "Personally I thought it was hilarious when I found out Shino was teamed up with Kiba-kun, but I suppose you have to know them both as well as I do to get the joke."

"I don't know, after watching that display I'm not sure whether to laugh or break open the sake," said a pleasant voice outside the group.

They turned to see a smiling woman standing there, bottle of sake in her hand. She had a mild, yet commanding presence about her. A gentle taskmaster. Her eyes were an odd shade of crimson which no doubt inspired the color choices on her outfit. She sauntered over to them and handed the bottle to Hizashi.

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. I'll be taking care of your kids. Now, aren't we supposed to eat?"

"Now that sounds like a plan," Tsume bellowed, snatching the sake bottle from Hizashi's hands and hopping up to sit on Naomi's neatly-made up table. "At least you live up to the Hyuuga name and bought some quality meat. I can smell it from here. Get on and start cooking already."

Hizashi stepped up and brushed his hand against Naomi's for the briefest second to calm her. Naomi wasn't asking for everyone to sit straight-backed in silence, but was a little decorum too much to ask for? Tsume stole a couple cups from the table and started pouring out the sake to Aoi and Kurenai. When one dangled in front of Naomi with Tsume's smirk broad, full, and taunting all the preparations she'd put in place for today, Naomi grabbed the little cup and downed it in one shot. She was going to need it to get through this dinner.

"Now that's a woman who knows how to drink," the Inuzuka woman laughed.

Naomi turned to see Neji and Hinata staring at her in muted shock and quickly straightened up. "You'll understand when you're older," she said.

Neji's eyes flickered to Tsume who was already on her third glass. "I'm pretty sure I understand now. I just didn't think you'd do it."

Naomi turned away and took her flustered face over to the hot coals to hide the color in her cheeks. The Inuzuka was a bad influence.

Hizashi smirked as he set out the first batch of skewers onto the grill. "You got called out by your son."

"Shut up," she muttered, too embarrassed to look at him.

For all the insanity that had happened so far, they'd at least gotten to a point where no one was killing each other and most were looking like they were having half a good time. She wasn't exactly sure what Shibi or Shino were thinking behind the glasses and the jackets, so Naomi couldn't tell if they were enjoying themselves or not. On the kids end, Neji was sizing up Hinata's two teammates like the over-protective brother he was, and Naomi caught Hana doing the same here and there. Aoi continually fussed over how big Hana had gotten and how handsome Kiba was (which Naomi would've agreed with if only his hair could've been tamed). Tsume on the other hand bemoaned the fact Shino didn't take nearly enough after Aoi and (the drunker she got) repeatedly begged Aoi not to let him become a stalker like his father.

Hizashi pulled the first batch of yakiniku from the grill and started passing it around. It wasn't exactly the table dinner Naomi has wanted –half the people weren't even sitting– but the food was good and the conversation, if nothing else, was entertaining.

"Okay, I know I shouldn't ask, but I can't help it anymore. _Why_ do you call him a stalker?" Kurenai asked Tsume.

Naomi'd been wondering that herself, but couldn't bring herself to ask. It seemed Kurenai had decided that between this group nothing was too offensive. She just might have been right, too.

"Because that's what the buggy bastard is," Tsume answered, pouring the last of the sake into her glass. "He stalked Aoi for almost a year before she caved and went out with him. And I'd bet anything he told those bees to attack her just so he could play hero."

"Aburame don't control bees," Shino defended his father.

"And you're merely jealous Aoi didn't marry your brother," Shibi added.

"Better a dog in the house than a bug on the ground," Tsume spat.

Aoi's laughter kept the fight from escalating once again. She looked at Hinata with a pitiful expression. "I sure hope Kiba-kun and Shino don't turn out like these two, or the only thing Hinata-chan's going to learn is how to keep people from killing each other."

"Not a bad skill for her to have in this clan," Hizashi snickered to Naomi too low for anyone else to hear, and it earned him a swat on the hip.

"They're not quite like Tsume and Shibi," Kurenai said with a chuckle, "but I've got a feeling she's still going to be quite the mediator on this team."

"It's still interesting they put these families together," Shibi commented seriously. He was the only one who was still entirely sober and sober looking (even Hizashi and Naomi had loosened up a little).

Kurenai took the bait for the group and leaned against the table next to where Tsume sat. "And what do you mean by that?"

"We all have sensory abilities to some extent," Shibi answered. "You normally don't need more than one sensory type on a team. So either their team _was_ based solely on grades, or Hokage-sama intended to build a perfect tracking team."

Tsume appeared to sober up as she thought. "Considering what happened on the hunt for Uchiha Itachi, it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted a perfect tracking team."

"A Hyuuga's eyes, an Inuzuka's nose, and an Aburame's range," Hizashi mused aloud. "It definitely feels like they were meant to look for something."

"Wait, is that why we keep getting stuck with the stupid 'find my lost pet' assignments?" Kiba complained.

"Well, you have to admit you three find them very fast," Kurenai joked.

"It's not funny. I want a mission with some action!" Kiba griped and Akamaru yipped in agreement.

"It'd be nice to test our skills," Shino concurred.

Hinata twirled an empty skewer between her fingers in the same fidgety way Naomi recognized whenever Hinata wasn't sure she should speak up. "We sort of are, if we're supposed to be a tracking team, I mean."

Kiba hopped up on the table like his mother and sat with Akamaru on the bench between his legs. "Yeah, but I want something with real danger. Me and Akamaru are itching for a real fight, not just training."

Tsume knocked Kiba on the head and then added one more for Akamaru who yipped. "Like you're ready for a real battle with the way you've been in training. The enemy will chew you up and spit you out unless you start getting serious."

"They would not and I am too ready! Just you see!" Kiba shouted back.

Naomi watched Hinata through their family tiff, nervous how she would take a mother demeaning her child in public like that. Hinata didn't shrink back like she'd expected, but instead a strange hint of envy was in her niece's eyes. Naomi looked back at Tsume and realized why. Tsume's censure was harsh, but it was from genuine worry for her son. Tsume wanted him able to handle himself. It wasn't the same degrading criticism Hyobe forced on her simply because she wasn't as skilled as he wanted her to be. An hour before she wouldn't have thought it possible, but Naomi was actually beginning to understand Tsume's personality. (She didn't necessarily like it yet, but she was understanding it.)

"Don't worry," Kurenai said as she finished off the last skewer on her plate, "even if you three do end up being a tracking team, not all tracking missions will be as safe as finding lost animals. You may have to track down items in enemy territory, missing ninja, enemy locations. I'm sure you'll have plenty of dangers to face in the years to come."

"I certainly hope his mother has more confidence in him before it comes to that," said a voice that froze Naomi's blood.

Beside her she saw Hizashi's hands fist momentarily before forcing to relax again, and across the table Neji moved closer to a now rigid Hinata. The jovial atmosphere that had permeated the dinner since people stopped trying to kill each other stilled as their guests noticed the change in the Hyuugas' demeanor. Naomi and Hizashi turned in unison to meet the voice with a solid front. Hyobe strode across the yard, disapproval oozing out of him like a miasma.

"What brings you out here, Father?" Hizashi asked more calmly than Naomi would have.

"I'm not allowed to see who you've entrusted my granddaughter to?" he replied. From his lips 'granddaughter' had a less familial sound than 'idiot' did coming from Tsume to Kiba.

Hizashi graciously motioned to the group behind him and smiled. "Here they are. But I know this isn't the type of gathering you'd enjoy, so it's all right if you'd like to leave now that you've met them."

It wasn't an order, Hizashi's power over Hyobe was limited to the fact he allowed Hinata to become genin, but it was more than a suggestion. Naomi prayed that for once Hyobe would be sensible to his granddaughter and simply leave her be. This meeting wasn't meant to become a clan issue. Like Aoi said, it was for the children. All three, not just Hinata. Naomi didn't even know if Hinata had felt comfortable enough around the two boys to _begin_ to explain the crap that went on in the clan. This wasn't the time to bring it up, not in front of her team.

"You'll forgive me if I worry," Hyobe replied, picking up a skewer from the grill and spinning it slowing to cool the sizzling meat.

"About Hinata or her forehead?" Hizashi whispered.

Hyobe took a carefully measured bite and chewed with excruciating leisure to force Hizashi to wait for his answer. "In this case those are one in the same."

"So you're the king of this Hyuuga hill," Tsume drawled snidely, a skewer sticking out the corner of her fangy smirk.

Hyobe chuckled a patronizing laugh that made Naomi's skin crawl. "Of course not, Hizashi's head of the clan until Hinata comes of age. It's _his_ responsibility to keep the clan _safe._ To fix any mistakes once he sees they're unfit to protect us."

A slip of indignation narrowed Kurenai's crimson eyes. Naomi doubted any of their other guests understood, but Kurenai had worried about Hinata's position as heir and been told that Hizashi made the decision against the clan's wishes. She recognized Hyobe's insult for what it was.

"Again with the safety shit," Tsume said, spitting the skewer onto the table to Hyobe's revulsion. "For such a paranoid clan it's amazing none of you have gone the Uchiha path, or is that what you're really afraid of? Old clans aren't so steady these days."

Naomi would have been insulted, except she was enjoying watching Hyobe's distaste to Tsume far more. After the insult he made on their guests, it only seemed fair he receive the same.

Hyobe carefully placed his empty skewer onto a plate still set out on the table, not looking at anyone in particular but exuding the sense of all-sight those with byakugan active possessed. "Oh, I have no fear this clan would attack itself. We're well-protected in that regard."

Naomi instinctively touched her forehead to make sure the scarf she wore was still in place. Living in the main family and raising Hinata, she'd learned to brush off a lot of the pain regarding the seal, but Hyobe still had the power to incite shame for bearing it. She quickly lowered her hand to keep the children from seeing it, though she wasn't certain she succeeded.

Hyobe turned his back on the group and started back to the house. "I think you're right, Hizashi, this isn't my type of gathering."

The only thing stopping Hizashi from showing the fury trapped so tightly inside him his hands shook was the fact that their guests were still there watching. If that had happened in a more private location Naomi wasn't sure what her husband would have said to Hyobe, but it certainly wouldn't be good for anyone.

"Sheesh, and just when I was starting to think you Hyuugas weren't too bad," Tsume growled.

Hizashi took a deep breath and calmed his body. "Please forgive my father's rudeness. It wasn't appropriate."

"My son," Shibi began, and having spoken so little all afternoon the sound caught everyone's attention. "My son is well trained, and if Kiba has a fraction of his mother's skill I have no doubt this team can protect itself."

Aoi stared at her husband as if she'd never seen him before. "Shibi, did you just _compliment_ Tsume?"

A skeptical brow rose over the Aburame's dark glasses. "I may loathe her, but I have the scars to prove she's a formidable opponent."

"Shibi . . ." Aoi leaned in until she was practically in her husband's lap and planted a kiss on him that had all the kids turning red. "Sometimes you remind me why I married you."

Tsume's face twisted up like she'd just swallowed rancid fish. "Ah, did you have to do that in front of me?"

Aoi just smirked.

"Yeah, well, me and Kuromaru have had our fair share of hospital visits thank to that buggy bastard. I'd trust him in a fight," Tsume reluctantly admitted, "just not with my daughter."

"Tsume!" Aoi snapped before the bugs crawling over Shibi's hand made it to the table.

Naomi felt mortified. That Hyobe had insulted them all to their faces was bad enough, but that all their guests understood exactly what Hyobe had insinuated was worse. Hyobe and the old main family were some of the reasons the Hyuugas had a reputation for thinking themselves better than everyone. And yet, Naomi was almost glad it happened. If the parents could be that loyal to their enemies, then imagine how loyal the children would be to their friends. They might be loud and slightly unusual, but loyalty and faith were what Hinata needed in a team and were far more important than anything Hyobe could teach her at home.

"Hey runt, come here," Tsume called, dragging Hinata close when she didn't move fast enough. "I might not have the Hyuuga's famous insight, but I can smell fear when it's in the air. If you really want to show that bastard up one day, let me give you some advice. The only way the runt of the litter survives is to learn to bite twice as hard as everyone else, otherwise you'll always be at the bottom of the pack. You understand me, girl?"

Naomi watched as Hinata slowly nodded, her eyes never wavering from Tsume. A smirk curled to reveal Tsume's canine fangs and an expression Naomi almost considered motherly softened her eyes.

"Good, you watch out for my Kiba, and I promise he'll teach you how to bite. That Aburame boy might even lend him a hand."


	22. The Talk

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Osamu leaned back against the guard station and tried to think up the most unusual and obscure item he could possibly conceive of. Across from him his brother waited with an arrogant smirk on his face. The twins had any number of different games to waste away the time during their shift when no on was watching. Some were pure boredom fun, while others helped keep their skills sharp. Today's game was the latter and meant to increase their non-verbal vocabulary. All Hyuugas had a small range of nonverbal communication on hand, but Osamu and Isamu prided themselves in having the fullest repertoire of the clan. It generally meant they could have entire conversations without saying a word, which made it easy to joke around during the rush periods when the clan was either leaving for the day or coming home.

But such talents took work, and this game forced them to push the limits of their communication. One would think up the most unlikely item and try to convey it in the context of a sentence or thought to the other. The weirder the item or scenario, the harder it was to both show nonverbally and to read it. It also had the byproduct of forcing the other to say some of the strangest and, often times, embarrassing things either could come up with. That's what made the game fun, though. Unfortunately for Osamu, Isamu was winning. Osamu needed to think up a doozey before his brother got too big a lead to recover from.

Osamu chuckled to himself as the sentence formed in his mind.

'_Bring it on,' _Isamu shirked.

'_Don't get too cocky,'_ Osamu shrugged.

Isamu's lips pursed and his brow lowered. '_It's not cocky, it's skill.'_

'_Right, try this one.'_ Osamu cleared his face and focused best on how to convey the strange message. His eyes dipped, his mouth tweaked up, and his shoulders straightened. _'You braided Neji's hair with explosive tags on top of a platypus.'_

Isamu's head tilted as he tried to read Osamu's message. _'Again,'_ he nodded.

'_You braided Neji's hair with explosive tags on top of a platypus,'_ Osamu repeated, though the chuckle in his throat threatened to ruin his telling.

Isamu's eyes squinted together as if he were trying to clear up blurry vision. "Me and Neji . . . no, I to Neji . . . to Neji's hair with . . . fire . . . no explosive. I laced Neji's hair with explosive tags . . . on a beaver and a duck?"

"Oh so close," Osamu taunted. "You _braided_ Neji's hair with explosive tags on top of a _platypus_."

"Damn, that explains why I was picking up eggs." Isamu relaxed back against the guard station wall and scowled. "I'm still winning."

"But only by one now," Osamu gloated.

"Yeah, that won't last. I'm going to think of a really good one for you. Better than platypus."

"Otouto, there's nothing better than platypus."

"Of course there is," Isamu countered. "A ninja platypus is better than a platypus."

"Touche."

Both twins fell into muted snickering as a couple chuunin interrupted their game. The two were dusty and tired, but didn't have the relief to be home normally seen in those who'd been on missions. They must have been training. Osamu glanced up at the clock carefully hidden in the corner of the station roof.

"You'd better think quickly, Otouto," he said with a glance to the time. "Pretty soon the evening rush is going to start, and the last time we played when people passed by I almost got reported for indecent conduct thanks to you."

Isamu shrugged. "You could've always not said it and forfeited the game."

'_And lose to you, I don't think so,'_ Osamu smirked as a woman passed by.

'_Then don't complain,'_ Isamu winked.

Osamu relaxed again and watched his brother's face for any hint to what he was thinking, but Isamu was sending out false signals to throw him off. There was no way Isamu was going to offer anything as easily readable as ice cream after Osamu'd dished out platypus.

Isamu was close to a decision –Osamu knew because Isamu always gnawed on his lower lip when he thought up a fun one– when a face appeared from the compound side that made Osamu groan. Being gate guard was a double-edge sword. They always got to see the people they liked come and go, but they also had to see the ones they didn't. What was worse was this one used to be a friend.

Osamu made a slight motion of his hand to get his brother's attention and nodded in the boy's direction. _'Nobu's coming. Don't do anything stupid.'_

'_Me stupid,'_ Isamu glowered, crossing his arms against his chest. _'Nobu better not do anything stupid.'_

When they were younger Nobu was as good a friend as any in the clan. After the incident at their genin party, they'd decided it was best not to see him anymore. If Nobu hadn't held onto the brancher grudge so strongly, they would still be friends. Though Nobu said the same of them, if only they weren't mainer-sympathizers. Only a year younger than them, Nobu had just made chuunin a few months before. He was fifteen.

"Enjoying guard duty?" Nobu gibed.

"Couldn't imagine doing anything else," Osamu replied with a perfected smile not even a Hyuuga could see though without byakugan active.

"Well _I'm_ off on a mission tomorrow. Practically B-rank," Nobu gloated.

"In other words, it's C-rank," Isamu said, a matching smile brightening his face.

Nobu scowled but quickly recovered. "I'll be gone for a couple weeks."

"What a loss to the clan," Osamu bemoaned overdramatically.

Judging from the slight twitch of Nobu's eyebrow, they were getting under his skin. "Better than standing around doing nothing all day."

"You're right," Isamu agreed, flashing a hidden smirk under his false smile. "We'd hate to do nothing all day."

"We're much too busy for that," Osamu added.

It really was too easy to annoy certain people. Nobu couldn't stand it when they refused to take his bait, and if his jaw clenched any tighter he'd crack teeth soon. When he joined in the false flattery (though not nearly as successfully as the twins), Osamu knew he'd changed tactics.

"So how's Hinata-sama enjoying her new team?" Nobu asked.

"She's enjoying it just fine," Osamu quickly answered as he watched his brother's smile falter.

Nobu nodded and started walking out. "Seems fitting she ended up with mutts and pests, mice are vermin after all."

Osamu shot a hand out to grab hold of Isamu's vest and held him at bay until Nobu was out of sight. The anger in his brother's eyes was too open and his hands shook with barely controlled intent. Osamu wanted to warn him, but someone was coming into range and he needed to keep what he saw from being what the clan did.

"Close your eyes," he whispered with all the command an older brother could produce.

Isamu obeyed, but not without a hint of confusion slipping into his body. Osamu smiled and said hello and goodbye to the young brancher woman so Isamu knew when it was safe to look again.

"What was that about?" Isamu asked. The anger had mostly faded from his eyes, but his hands remained tightly crossed against his chest.

"You need to be careful what you show to people," Osamu chided.

"People know we're close to Hinata-sama. I'm allowed to be mad when they insult her."

Osamu hadn't wanted to break their agreement, but if Isamu continued the way he was things could get out of hand. "Look, if anger was all that came out, that'd be fine, but I'm seeing something else and you _really_ don't want the clan seeing it, too. You need to control yourself better."

Isamu's brow knit together beneath his forehead protector and he stared at Osamu honestly confused. "What do you mean you see something else?"

Osamu waited for another man to pass by before answering. He wasn't going to be so nice with Nobu next time for bringing this up right when people were coming. "Look, I wasn't going to mention it, but this isn't a rumor you want going around the clan. For you or Hinata-sama."

'_Huh?'_ Isamu contorted, too befuddled to speak.

"Oh my God," Osamu gasped, the realization exploding in him like birthday fireworks. "You don't know."

"Know what?" Isamu snapped as his confusion turned to aggravation.

"Oh, this is great. You don't know!" Osamu grabbed onto the wall behind him to keep from doubling over laughing. It was too wonderful to even imagine. He'd assumed what he'd seen was a slip up, but to know Isamu didn't realize he'd done it at all made it a thousand times funnier. Far more dangerous, but too hilarious to let go.

"What's wrong with you?" Isamu asked, getting tired of Osamu's hysteria.

"You've given me ammunition against you for the next ten years. This is great. Horrible for you, and completely awesome for me." Osamu slid down the side of the wall and looked up to his brother from the ground, still chuckling to himself the whole time. "Okay, I can't say this aloud, so watch me _very_ carefully."

'_Hinata-sama is very important to you.'_

_'Yeah, Hinata-sama's important to you, too,'_ Isamu quirked, _'You're point?'_

Some of the mirth faded from Osamu's face and he scoffed at his little brother. "Now that's just denial."

"What?" Isamu defended.

_'You _like_ Hinata-sama,' _Osamu's eyes widened.

"I what!" Isamu cried, drawing the attention of a couple branchers headed out to dinner. His face burned red and he avoided Osamu's smirking gaze. _'I do not!'_

Osamu harrumphed and eyed Isamu skeptically. _'I've seen it.'_

"When?" Isamu asked, too unnerved by what Osamu was telling him to convey it silently.

Osamu smiled and waved at a cute mednin heading out for her evening shift at the hospital before turning serious. "The night you went to get her from the academy. I thought it was strange you didn't look back at me before going after her, and then I saw it." His eyes lowered. _'At that moment, she was more important.'_

Isamu's face went slack as he saw the truth in his brother, and he joined Osamu on the ground. Osamu watched Isamu reflect on his behavior and what it meant now, the disbelief slowly being replaced by shocked awareness.

"It's not like that," he finally said. "She's twelve. I don't . . . not like that."

Osamu laughed. "I know it's not romantic. Hey, I tried to say she was very important, but you wouldn't listen." He popped an over-exaggerated grinned on his face to relax his brother, though there was a bit of tease hidden in there, too. "I also know in a couple years that's going to change."

Isamu hid his reddening face behind his hand and thoroughly refused to make eye contact with Osamu or anyone who passed by. Osamu wouldn't taunt him _excessively_ today. (He would later, but the shock was a bit much right now.)

"Just promise me you'll be more careful about what you show from now on," Osamu said seriously. "It'd be bad for both of you if the clan figures it out."

Isamu nodded, still avoiding his brother's gaze. Osamu stood back up and watched his humiliated brother squirm.

"You didn't know," Osamu snickered.

'_Shut up!'_


	23. Pincushion or Porcupine?

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Whoops and hollers reverberated through the training field Neji and Tenten quickly escaped from. On days they didn't have missions their normal training tended to end this way. Lee and Gai would enter into a strange and alien male bonding ritual that Neji was more than happy not to be a part of, and he and Tenten would head home to finish any personal training with their families. Tenten's father was thrilled she'd taken up weapons' practice, while her mother was just happy she was empting their house of her father's collection.

For Neji though, jyuuken practice, however routine, was beginning to stifle him a little. There was only so far he could go being branch family, but Neji knew he could do better. He could feel it in his chakra begging to be taken to its full potential. So that evening as Neji and Tenten found the sweet relief of quiet flight, Neji broke the communal silence they normally shared.

"Tenten, I have a favor to ask of you."

She pulled a senbon from her right bun and twirled it idly between her fingers. It was a habit she'd picked up from training with her father (or so she said). "What do you need?"

"Your weapons," he answered.

The senbon stilled between her middle and index fingers. "You want to learn weaponry?"

Neji smirked. "No, I want you to throw them at me."

Tenten stopped walking and replaced the senbon back into her bun. "You want me to what?"

"Preferably the senbon to start with," Neji said casually. "If I end up a pincushion it'll be less fatal than if you use your larger weapons or even kunai and shuriken. We'll work up to those."

"And why _exactly_ do you want me to turn you into a pincushion?" Tenten chuckled, though confusion was still plain in her brown eyes.

"Well, if all goes well, you won't," Neji corrected. He glanced around to make sure they were still alone before continuing. "You remember some of the things I've told you about the differences between main and branch in the clan?"

Tenten nodded.

Neji checked the area again, paranoid despite his own reassurances. What he wanted would be severely punished if anyone in the clan found out about it too early. "Well, there're techniques that only the main family is allowed to learn, and even though I live at the main house, I'm still branch."

"And as a good branch boy you've decided to accept that and move on, right?" Tenten teased, sensing better than the rest of his team would exactly where this was going.

"As far as the clan's concerned," Neji agreed with a laugh.

Tenten pulled the senbon out again and started twirling it, a smile on her lips as she envisioned where the small metal needle would strike. "So, what does this have to do with me turning you into a pincushion worthy of Lee's mother's sewing drawer?"

"You're enjoying this idea a little too much," Neji mumbled.

Tenten shrugged and started walking again, the mirth bright in her eyes. "I do enjoy live target practice."

Neji lifted a wary eyebrow. He knew what her non-living targets ended up as. "Well, if I learn to do this right, none of them will hit me."

"Mine always hit the target," Tenten said with a smirk.

Neji snorted. Didn't he know. But that was why her particular talents would be useful to him, after all. "The technique I want to practice is a shield of sorts. It uses chakra to resist physical objects or attacks and then rotation to expel them away."

Tenten nodded, her mind going through the logical possibilities (an ability that made her superior to their other teammates). "So if all goes well none will actually make it to your body, but if all goes badly . . ."

"Pincushion," Neji finished for her.

"All right, sounds like fun," she agreed. In her hand the senbon twirled faster than any normal shinobi would possibly dare without stabbing themselves. "I only have one question. Why, other than the fact that if you can do it you want to do it, are you risking going against the clan to learn this? From what you've always talked about, it's more than a slap on the wrist for a brancher to try and step into the main family's shoes."

"Other than the fact that my jyuuken is so good I can learn these without being properly taught," Neji remarked, picking up on her chiding of his ego, "these are some of the most powerful techniques in the clan. If I learn them, I'll be able to protect her better. I don't see why that should be punished."

A perceptive smile tugged at Tenten's lips as he talked. "You've got such a sister complex."

Neji's eyes narrowed at her all too favorite taunt. "An only child wouldn't understand."

"Careful, Neji, or a few shuriken might end up accidentally slipping in with all those senbon."

Neji resisted the urge to snip back. She'd make sure those shuriken hit the worst possible areas too, if he knew her, and he wasn't certain how well the kaiten attempt would work the first time. He knew in theory how it should work, but theory and execution didn't always mesh perfectly. At least he'd seen kaiten in action once as an example (thanks to Gai's idiocy). When he eventually started working on the sixty-four points, it was going to be blind – so to speak.

"So where do you want to clandestinely practice this forbidden technique so your clan doesn't find out?" Tenten asked.

"Outside the village," Neji answered, shaking his head at the sheer enjoyment he saw in her eyes at the intrigue of his plan. "Come on, I got a spot in mind."

Neji led her about ten minutes outside the village proper to a wooded area that was at an odd angle from the Hyuuga compound. Neji chose it carefully so that someone would have to be specifically looking at this area for someone to see it with byakugan; a general sweep of the village wouldn't catch it. The woods also gave Tenten the high ground and an easier ability to strike from multiple sides at once. Neji needed to know that his kaiten didn't have holes in it, and hopefully a dislike of being a pincushion would be sufficient incentive to master it quickly.

"Try and attack from a full 360 if you can, and don't aim all at the same height," Neji instructed as Tenten jumped into the treetops for better access.

"Just don't complain when you look like a porcupine."

"I thought you were going to turn me into a pincushion," Neji joked.

"I'll decide which one when I see how many land," she laughed. "Tell me when."

Neji was hoping it was neither. Aside from conveniently mastering one of the main family's sacred techniques in a flash, it would hurt a lot less. He headed to the center of the small clearing between the trees and focused on his chakra. Expelling chakra from his hand and feet was simple, especially with his jyuuken training, but this would be the first time he attempted to release it from all his tenketsu. He stood there a moment, just feeling the flow of his chakra through his body. He pushed out once and noted the difference between the easy release in his extremities and the resistance holding his chakra to his torso. It wasn't impossible, but his body fought his attempts. Two more small pushes and his torso relaxed enough to allow the chakra out slightly better than the first time. Neji hoped adding in the rotation would compensate for the resistance. With more apprehension than he'd expected to have, Neji activated byakugan and nodded to Tenten.

As thin as they were, he heard the senbon more than saw then. A shrill whistle piercing the wind all around him. With a single, fierce push of his chakra, Neji started his turn. He thought the spin would be the easy part, but he'd failed to take into account the uneven force of chakra leaving his body shifted his center of gravity. What should have been a graceful pirouette ended up a stumbling, bumbling somersault to the ground with a number of those whizzing senbon planting themselves right into his upturned ass. His chakra managed to deflect several from his arms and ankles, but (to his dismay) most of her senbon found their targets, and Tenten had very good aim.

He was almost too embarrassed to move, face shoved into the ground and posterior high in the air, four shiny metal needles sticking out of his left butt cheek and two in his right. Two waving lines ran up his back as Tenten was kind enough to avoid his spine, and a couple had lodged in his upper calves, thighs, and biceps. As if to add insult to (quite literally) injury, a single senbon stuck up from the back of his head. This was not going to be as simple as he thought.

Tenten dropped to the ground beside him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Porcupine. Definitely porcupine."

Neji reached up and pulled the senbon from the shallow spot in his head. He wanted to stand up but the position of several senbon only allowed him up on all fours. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"And _help_ the great Hyuuga Neji?" Tenten reached out and pulled the two needles from his left butt cheek, a snarky little grin on her face. "I'd never dream of it."

"Ha-ha," he returned dryly. Neji grit his teeth and ignored the sting spider-webbing across his skin as she pulled out the other four. Tenten was just playing with him now; the one in his head hadn't been nearly that deep.

At least he was able to move enough to stand now. With a little cajoling between Neji and Tenten (mostly Tenten since he'd fallen face first and the senbon had hit his back), he was senbon free and feeling like he'd just been tenderized. Small splotches of blood dotted his shirt and –more tellingly– his shorts. If his attempts continued to the same success rate, Neji was going to have to make a few adjustments. Neji reached back and pulled his shirt over his head.

"What're you doing?" Tenten asked, an odd expression crossing her face.

"One attack I can say hit me during training, but if I come home with a hundred holes in my clothes, my mother's going to wonder what's going on."

Neji laughed to himself when he tugged off his shorts and Tenten glanced away. It wasn't as if he was showing anymore than if he'd gone swimming with her. Heck, Lee and Gai's normal outfits left less to the imagination than Neji in his boxers.

"Give me a few minutes. I want to try and fix my rotation before you attack again," he told Tenten, allowing her to retreat back into the treetops without even a smart quip back. She must have been embarrassed, which seemed silly to Neji. _He_ was the one half naked.

Neji returned to his previous spot in the clearing and felt out his chakra again. He started slow this time, adjusting his position as necessary to maintain balance and struggling to even out his chakra throughout his body in the process. This was more difficult than he'd given it credit for. If his body would only release the chakra steadily then these constant shifts wouldn't be necessary. Neji was beginning to believe that even if branchers were allowed to learn main family techniques, not all of them would be _capable_ of learning it. He had to wonder how much trouble Hinata was going to have when it was time for her to learn. She had the chakra control, no doubt, but it was taking considerable power to force his chakra from his whole body. Hinata was never skilled in brute strength.

After three successful (if stumbling) spins with chakra, Neji looked up into the trees to find Tenten. She was sitting with her legs dangling off a branch watching him. He tried not to read his teammates too much with byakugan. For one it was rude, and for another he didn't often _want_ to know what Lee or Gai were thinking – it tended to hurt his brain. But sometimes it was unavoidable. Like at that moment, when his enhanced sight caught the barely there quirk in the corner of her lips, the way her eyes were fixated on him, and the softest hint of pink on her cheeks. When he saw that –against all his better judgment– a smug smirk plastered itself firm onto his face.

"Enjoying the show?" he called up.

"Just deciding if I should go for pincushion this time instead of porcupine," she said.

"Of course you are," Neji chuckled, seeing the lie in the slight aversion of her gaze when she spoke.

Tenten's eyes narrowed in sudden irritation and a dark haze clouded her normally pleasant atmosphere. "Are you reading me with byakugan?"

As much as his common sense was bludgeoning him to shut his mouth and go back to training, there was a certain arrogance he couldn't deny with byakugan. He _knew_ she had enjoyed the view. His ego won out over common sense and the smirk glaring back at her was his only reply.

Tenten stood up and glowered an expression so dark for a moment Neji was sure the sun had dimmed. Her hands slipped into the pouches on her hips and Neji didn't need byakugan to see the malevolence in her grin.

"Pincushion."

* * *

He definitely felt like a pincushion now. You'd think for being called a genius Neji would be smarter than to taunt the person he'd asked to throw a large number of sharp, pointy objects at him. The shurikens in the thighs were a bit excessive, even if she was mad. Though, Neji had the sneaking suspicion that was warning on how good her aim was. A few inches over and he wouldn't have been bandaging his _thighs_.

Thankfully, his clothing concealed most of the damage. Since he was already accustomed to releasing chakra from his extremities, his semi-kaiten resisted the senbon better on his arms and legs (not perfectly, but better). Neck to knees was a completely different story. He wasn't going to be able to take off his shirt in front of anyone for quite a while without a lot of questions being raised.

Part of him wished he could go to Yumi and get healed, say that he'd agreed to be target practice for Tenten, but he couldn't risk it. If _anyone_ found out he was practicing kaiten he'd be in serious trouble. He didn't want to get into trouble like that until he actually mastered it. Yumi was out, but he did have one avenue to hasten healing, and he was pretty sure she should be back from her mission by now.

Neji headed for Hinata's study, trying his best not to limp despite how much worse the shuriken wounds hurt compared to the senbon. He was relieved to hear a 'come in' answer his knock and quietly entered his sister's study, closing the door behind him.

"Neji-niisan," Hinata called happily. She maneuvered the scroll she was looking over onto her desk as best she could considering it was larger than the entire cedar desk. Once certain it wasn't going to sprawl onto the ground, Hinata slipped out and ran to give Neji a hug.

He shot out his hands to stop her, wincing at the quick motion. "Tenten used me for target practice," he told her honestly. "I was hoping I could get some of that salve Yumi-san taught you how to make."

"Sure, but Grandma would probably take care of it for you if you asked," Hinata said, turning to one of her cabinets to search for the salve.

"It's not that bad," he lied. "Just stings a bit." If 'by a bit' meant his entire torso was on fire.

While she shuffled through her cabinets, Neji wandered over to her desk to check out the scroll she'd been reading. It was a family tree, or more specifically the main family's family tree. He knew it couldn't be the branch as well, because with as many intra-clan marriages as there were in the Hyuuga clan, the branch's family tree was more like a labyrinth. Of course, for that very reason the clan council kept detailed records of marriages to ensure couples aren't too close genetically. It was frowned on for clan members less than seven generations apart to marry, though not _entirely_ unheard of, while less than three was forbidden. Neji's own parents had ten generations out before a common ancestor.

Neji perused the linage he came from, for even if he was sealed into the branch family, the tree itself was proof he came from main family: on the second to last line Hizashi's name was clearly written next to Hiashi's. Neji wasn't sure why, but it saddened him a little that his name wasn't listed as cousin to Hinata. He knew that Hizashi's name had been added to the branch family's tree as well and that was where his and Naomi's names were, but to see the last line bearing Hinata's name alone made it feel incomplete.

"Why do you have the family tree out?" Neji asked when Hinata finally returned with a small jar of medicinal salve that would save Neji's skin from scarring.

"Grandpa's making me memorize it," she groaned.

"The whole thing?" Neji felt sorry for Hinata, it might not be as bad as the branch family's but the main family tree wasn't short. They were considered one of the oldest clans in Konoha for a reason.

Hinata slumped down into her chair again, looking as mopey as she could get. "He said as clan head I should know the past clan heads and what they did."

"Learn anything interesting?" he asked as he rubbed the salve into one of few wounds that made it onto his arm. The cold concoction soothed his skin immediately.

Hinata scoffed, an odd sound coming from her soft voice. "I learned I'm not naming my kids anything that starts with H."

"I'm pretty sure there's a law demanding that," Neji joked as he sat down in the chair opposite her desk to work on his sore legs. He wished the shuriken wounds weren't so high on his thighs. He'd have to undress to treat those properly, and he really needed the salve there most of all.

Neji continued to examine the names on the scroll. Hinata might not have found much of it interesting, but Neji noticed something that made him smile. He closed the salve jar and leaned closer to double check the names.

"There's only been one other female clan head before," he commented, pointing to the immaculate calligraphy more than halfway up the scroll to a time before Konoha's founding when the Hyuuga were still an independent shinobi clan for hire. "Hyuuga Hisako."

"Hisako's mother died giving birth to her," Hinata recited as if reading from a textbook. "Her father refused to remarry or take a lover, so Hisako was the only heir. Her father raised her as a boy though, and the clan treated her as a man. Supposedly the only time she ever wore women's clothes was on her wedding day."

Neji chuckled to himself. Seemed she learned something after all.

"So you'll be the second female clan head, but the first girly one."

Hinata snickered. "I guess so. I wouldn't want to be like Hisako, though. She was one of the strictest of all the clan heads."

"She probably had to be back then to be respected," Neji mused. There was still a gender divide in positions of power nowadays, but not nearly as severe as when Hisako lived.

"Yeah, but she killed her own clansmen when they defied her," Hinata explained. "If there was a fissure between the houses before her, there was a canyon between them afterwards."

The practical side of Neji understood that Hisako lived in a much bloodier and harsher age, before the families merged into villages or the delicate peace they lived in now. And he knew that being a woman in power during that time she had to ensure respect and loyalty by any means possible. The rest of him cringed at the idea of the clan head killing off her own people. It was the reason for the seal, but it still made Neji's stomach turn. That definitely wasn't the kind of leader Hinata would have to be, not if he learned to master kaiten and the sixty-four points. Once he mastered those, even if there was dissent in the clan he'd be able to help her take care of it without resorting to the seal.

"Well, on that wonderful thought, I'm going to go and take care of the rest of the wounds Tenten gave me," Neji said, groaning a little louder than he meant to when he stood up. Recruiting Tenten might not have been his smartest idea. Before he opened the door, Neji turned back to Hinata and waved the jar at her. "You'd better make more of this. I have a feeling Tenten's target practice is going to be ongoing for a while."


	24. The Most Uncomfortable Lesson

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Hinata stared into the flames offering up warmth on the cool night. She curled her legs tight against her chest, a miserable expression straining her face. She was really starting to wonder if she was cut out to be a leader at all. It was their first mission outside of the village and Kurenai had specifically named Hinata to lead it. Hinata knew she was trying to help her by giving her the responsibility. She wouldn't be surprised if Hizashi asked Kurenai to give her these kinds of opportunities to build her skills for when she took over the clan. But that only made her failure so much more disheartening.

It wasn't even as if the mission had failed. They'd succeeded, but only because Shino and Kiba took control halfway through. It was as if her ability to make any kind of decision plummeted the more she _needed_ to make it. She could already hear her grandfather's censure in the back of her mind and see his disappointment in the flickering firelight.

"Not everyone is a natural leader," Kurenai consoled her from across the fire. "That doesn't mean you'll never learn how, Hinata."

Hinata lowered her eyes to her knees. She didn't feel like she'd ever learn with the way their missions were going. Shino and Kiba took command with ease. Hinata was nothing like that.

"You need to stop second-guessing yourself," Shino remarked in his matter-of-fact way. Hinata didn't mind it as much when he pointed out her flaws; he had a way of commenting without sounding like he was judging her.

Kiba nodded, not to be outdone by Shino at anything. "You think too much. Just make a decision and stand by it, right or wrong."

"I'll try," she said. None of them looked very convinced.

Akamaru padded around the fire and snuggled up next to her. She ran her fingers through his coarse fur and received a hum of appreciation. Kiba'd given up on keeping his ninja dog _fierce_ all the time. Hinata wasn't sure if it was seeing his mother's dog reduced to a playful puppy that changed him, or if he'd just accepted that having a cuddly pup comforted her at times.

As much as she often felt like the weak link in their team, Hinata was thankful for them. She finally understood the kind of happy reminiscence she saw whenever adults talked about their genin teams and how strangers could become closest friends. Kiba was loud, slightly obnoxious, overbearing, and didn't always know when to slow down and think, but he was also loyal, sometimes sweet in a roguish way, and he always watched out for Hinata without coddling her. Shino wasn't the distant, cold, unreadable person she first met when they became genin. In fact, it was his reserve that made what he said so much more meaningful. That he was opening up at all was how he showed attachment and affection. And then there was Kurenai. She always had a way of tempering her harsher lessons with a maternal instinct that made even failures serve to teach them something. As dejected as she felt at failing her goal of leading, they were all a comforting presence.

"Do you know what Kiba and Shino have that makes it easier for them to lead, Hinata?" Kurenai asked. Though she asked it of Hinata, all three were attentive when she continued. "Confidence. Whether their decisions turn out to be correct or not, they believe in their own judgment. Self-confidence is essential to being a leader."

Hinata picked Akamaru up and tucked him between her legs and chest like a furry safety blanket. If confidence was the key, it might be a long time before she was ready to lead.

* * *

They got back to Konoha the next morning. Kiba and Shino waved goodbye at the gate and headed off for home while Kurenai walked with Hinata part of the way, her apartment being in the same direction. They'd been in a comfortable silence for some time –Hinata mentally preparing herself to look more chipper than she felt– when Kurenai pulled her away from the foot traffic.

"Hinata, we need to work on your confidence. I know you have the ability to be great inside you, but you're holding yourself back. I have an idea. It's not going to be pleasant for you, but I think it can force you to see how much you're capable of doing. Are you willing to trust me and try it?"

Hinata didn't like how vague Kurenai was being about 'how' this would be unpleasant for her, but she became a genin because she wanted to learn to believe in herself – even if it seemed impossible in the face of her failures. If Kurenai had a way to help her break that insecurity down, Hinata was willing. She nodded.

"Good," Kurenai said with a smile. "Meet me in the training yard in the forest west of the village in a couple hours. I have to go prepare a few things first." She placed a reassuring hand on Hinata's shoulder before heading back the way they came to the commercial district.

Hinata made her way home, putting on a big happy smile that the twins saw through immediately but were kind enough not to pry into. It wasn't the first time she'd come home like that. After a quick hello to Hizashi and Naomi, Hinata headed for the shower to clean up. She knew she'd probably need another after whatever training Kurenai had in mind, but there was something about camping out that made Hinata feel dusty. She couldn't stand not getting at least a quick shower to feel clean again.

Once washed and in a fresh set of training clothes so she no longer felt like half the road was stuck to her body, Hinata relaxed on her own futon with one of her mother's medical scrolls. She'd pretty well given up on a serious study of medical jutsu since there simply wasn't proper time to devote between her team missions and training, her jyuuken training with Hizashi, and Hyobe's demands for her to study clan history and law. She did however still make time for her garden and to mix the medicinal salves and ointments her mother used to make. She'd had a constant customer in Neji for a couple weeks, but it seemed her brother had finally gotten enough of being 'target practice' for Tenten since he hadn't asked for any in some time.

After nearly an hour, which was enough time for her to _not_ want to leave and go training again, Hinata dragged herself from beneath her covers and headed west. She still had no idea what kind of training Kurenai had in mind, but Hinata was getting desperate. She wanted to be better than this. Everyone said she could be, but as Neji once told her, _she_ had to believe it. Hinata _wanted_ to believe it, but it was so hard to get her grandfather's voice out of her head telling her she wasn't as good as everyone else and questioning every decision she made.

Kurenai was already waiting for her at the small training area when Hinata arrived. In her hands was a large shopping bag. "Hinata, good, you came."

"I want to improve," Hinata said as she landed next to of the three training trunks. It wasn't the largest training field, only a small, secluded clearing in the trees.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now I need you to trust me," Kurenai said and waited for Hinata to nod before handing over the shopping bag. "Then go get changed and we can begin."

Hinata took the bag from her, confusion clouding her pale eyes. "Changed?"

She reached into the bag and pulled out a very, very, _very_ short kimono (it was practically a haori top, only a haori would have been longer) with sheer sides and a neckline that was not meant for modesty. From ears to nose, Hinata's entire face ignored pick, shot passed scarlet, and settled on an inhuman purpleish-fire-red color. There was no way she could wear that.

"Breathe, Hinata," Kurenai called to the frozen girl and she obediently inhaled. That dropped Hinata's face to merely fire-red.

"I . . . I . . . I . . ." Hinata stumbled, her eyes never wavering from the yellow and blue monstrosity in her hand.

"Go on and get changed," Kurenai encouraged with a smile unaffected by Hinata's condition.

"I can't wear this!" Hinata finally burst out, dropping the kimono back into the bag and shoving it into Kurenai's hands.

Kurenai caught the bag before it fell to the ground and stared at Hinata. Her eyes were softened by compassion for her charge, but the resolute teacher refused to be disobeyed. "I told you this wouldn't be pleasant for you. But I need you to trust me."

"How is _that_ supposed to help my confidence?" Hinata wheeze. Just thinking about it sent her into a hyperventilating fit.

"It's a physical representation of your own insecurity. You don't want to wear it because you don't have the confidence to show people 'you.'"

"N-no," Hinata stumbled over the simple word. "I don't want to wear it because it doesn't cover anything."

"This is only one size smaller than what will cover me," Kurenai assured her, "and since you're obviously more than one size smaller than me, it'll cover everything that needs to be covered. More importantly, it shows everything that doesn't need to be covered."

Hinata stared at the shopping bag as if it might come alive and eat her. "Hyuugas don't wear things like that."

"That's an excuse, Hinata," her teacher reprimanded sharply. "The fact is you're not comfortable in your own skin. You're terrified to be yourself because you don't think 'you' are good enough. Now it's not entirely your fault you think that way, but your grandfather isn't going to fix it. _You_ have to fix it."

Hinata no longer knew if the heat burning her skin was from the thought of wearing that _thing_ or from the tender confrontation Kurenai made. She could see her instructor's desire to help her, but . . . but . . . "But how can that help me?"

Kurenai's eyes softened as the resistance slowly faded. "This is a way to literally strip away your ability to hide behind your fears and insecurities. I want you to put this on and spar with me, because I want you to see how much easier it is to act on a decision when you're not worrying about how people will view it – how they will view you. Think of it this way, is there really anything you won't be able to do after you fight in this?"

Yes, because she'd die of complete and utter humiliation immediately after putting it on. It was _not_ something the heir to the Hyuuga clan would ever wear – _especially_ to fight in. Not be self-conscious? One wrong move and she'd be showing all the wrong things that that flimsy piece of fabric was _supposed_ to cover.

Sensing her continued reluctance, Kurenai leveled a maternal expression that Hinata had no doubt would one day force her children to confess all their mischief with a single look. "I asked you to trust me, Hinata. Do you?"

Of course she did, but the thought of wearing that skimpy, revealing kimono practically sent her into a panic attack. Yet the longer Kurenai waited in silence for an answer, the harder it was to look her in the face. With a shaking hand –and a begging, pleading look of desperation– Hinata reclaimed the shopping bag from her instructor. She stood there, unmoving.

"If it will make you feel better, use byakugan to make sure I'm the only one here," Kurenai suggested with an insistent push toward the trees. "Don't worry, my sensei did the same thing to me when I was a genin."

"You had problems with your confidence?" Hinata questioned.

"No, modesty removal," she said with a quirky smile. "It's something every kunoichi should learn, though for you, it also serves for a confidence lesson."

That did not make Hinata feel better. The only thing that _would_ make Hinata feel better was _not_ changing into that atrocity. Her only consolation –and the single, solitary reason she was reluctantly heading for the woods with that horrible bag in her hands– was that it would only be Kurenai, and Kurenai was a woman.

It didn't make it any easier to open the bag though. She activated byakugan and scanned the area for a mile out in all directions –three times– before opening the nondescript, white bag. With byakugan still active (because no one was going to see her do this but Kurenai!), Hinata snapped her hand in and snatched the fabric as fast as she could, as if that would make it more bearable. It didn't. Now she was staring at it. At the yellow backdrop with pale blue chrysanthemums decorating the front and back. At the sheer, semi-see through panels on the sides. At the thin blue tie that surely couldn't hold anything closed. Where did Kurenai even _buy_ something like this?

It took five minutes before Hinata convinced herself to remove her jacket, and then she stared at the kimono again. "Kurenai-sensei, can I keep my undershirt on?" She knew the answer, but desperation had firmly lodged itself in her bright red face and wasn't about to leave.

"Underwear only," Kurenai answered with a pleasant chirp in her voice.

This was just revenge for having to go through it herself. It was all Kurenai's jounin instructor's fault! Hinata hid her face in the silken cloth (the only thing she was certain it could cover) and struggled to screw her courage up. Taking a deep breath, Hinata yanked off her under shirt and whipped the kimono around her faster than the human eye could blink. She grasped the thin fabric closed, slightly amazed it really did cover her, though not as much as she wanted. Still holding the kimono shut, Hinata put her jacket and shirt into the bag before picking up the blue tie. She wrapped it tight around her waist and tied it in a triple knot to make sure it wouldn't come undone.

That left her pants. She hated the kimono, but she might have been able to handle fighting Kurenai is only she could have kept her pants on, then she wouldn't be worried about panty-flashing her instructor every time she moved.

"Hinata, even if you stall all day I'll still be waiting here," Kurenai called, a hint of amusement tempering the impatience in her voice.

The mortification!

Hinata sighed and tugged her pants off, pressing her nearly exposed body against the tree behind her as she held onto her pants for dear life. Once she dropped those into the bag she'd have to go out there. To be _seen_. Sure she'd been in a bathing suit plenty of times, but that was high necked and couldn't flash open with a strong breeze, plus she wore a cover up at the waist when not actually in the water. This was a hundred times worse.

Closing her eyes, Hinata dropped her last lifeline into the white bag and stood frozen for a moment. She was actually wearing this horrible thing. The wind was cool against her thighs, and though it only fluttered a little, Hinata kept a hand to hold down the bottom hem. She couldn't move. It was impossible. How was she supposed to walk let alone fight?

"_Hi~na~ta~_," Kurenai called again in a sing-song tone.

She had to move. She'd promised to trust Kurenai, and it was just Kurenai. She was a woman. It wasn't as if she'd never seen girls' panties before if the wind picked up. Plus, she was far more endowed than Hinata, so it'd be nothing special if the tie loosened at all. It was Kurenai. Just Kurenai. She would move for Kurenai.

Slowly, Hinata moved from tree to tree, dragging her sandaled feet over the roots and undergrowth in hopes it would delay her. But all too soon the sun-filled clearing was visible from her final hiding place and Hinata clung to the bark until her fingernails turned white.

"Come on out," Kurenai said with a smile when Hinata finally peeked out from the safety of the tree.

Somehow she felt as if Kurenai were beckoning her to her doom. Hinata toed her way into the open. One hand crossed her chest and gripped the kimono closed at the neck, while the other tugged the hem as far down as it could (which sadly was barely past her hips). The sheer humiliation in her eyes begged Kurenai to end this 'confidence lesson' already.

"You look beautiful," Kurenai said with that motherly smile that always had a way of relaxing her.

Hinata wasn't vain by any means, but the compliment was unexpected, and deep beneath the burning embarrassment a gentle warmth filled her eyes. She didn't often get called beautiful.

"Now prepare yourself," Kurenai warned as she slipped into her taijutsu stance.

This must have been what Kurenai meant by modesty removal with her instructor. Hinata knew she needed to be ready to defend herself, but before she could open her legs into the strong footing that would allow her to easily attack or defend, the realization that it would open the front of the kimono below the tie immobilized her. She knew if this were a real battle she wouldn't have a choice, but right now it was Kurenai. Hinata simply couldn't bring herself to let the exposure happen.

Kurenai stuck first and Hinata jumped back, still clinging to the cloth. The tenderness that had kept her instructor from appearing too harsh disappeared with each attack that Hinata fled from rather than defended. Hinata saw the chakra swell for the genjutsu, but Kurenai was too quick and her body disappeared into the wind before she could break away.

The strike to her back that followed sent a razor sharp nerve pain up her spine and Hinata instinctively spun around to protect herself. Kurenai attacked faster and faster and never in the same area twice. Hinata could barely keep up blocking as Kurenai pushed her with relentless attacks from one end of the training yard to the other. When Kurenai pulled the kunai out and nearly sliced up the side of her face, Hinata slipped in under her outstretched arm and landed a two-handed palm strike to her side. The force of the blow shoved Kurenai out of arms reach for the first time in ten minutes, and Hinata leapt further back to catch her breath. Kurenai wasn't playing around.

"Hinata," the older woman called with a smile, "look down."

Hinata obeyed without thinking and came face to face with her own nearly completely exposed chest. The two loose sides of the kimono front rustled gently in the breeze. She yanked the thin fabric closed just as a sharp pain radiated out from her side and she was thrown across the yard. Kurenai had taken advantage of her distraction and landed a solid kick to her midsection.

"Modesty is a luxury, Hinata," Kurenai called and without waiting for Hinata to recover, Kurenai returned to her barrage. "Ignore it and fight with all your might."

Hinata expelled chakra from her hands to deflect three shuriken headed straight for her chest. Every attack was serious and she could see the intent to harm clearly in Kurenai's eyes. She couldn't keep thinking of this fight as training, Kurenai attacked with the ferocity of an enemy.

There's something about staring into the eyes of an enemy. To see in that exact moment that they would stop at nothing to hurt you and to know that you were alone to face them. No friends or teammates left to rely on. Hinata closed her eyes for a second and let the resolution of battle settle into her body. When her pale gaze met Kurenai's crimson eyes, Hinata was finally prepared.

Forgetting the desire for modesty or propriety, Hinata rushed her instructor to bring the battle into close combat and play to her strengths for the first time. She didn't have Shino or Kiba's ability to stay at a distance between attacks; she needed to be up close and connecting with the coils system over and over. Kurenai was faster, but Hinata was more flexible. When Kurenai attempted to dodge a straight attack, Hinata was able to bend around for a side strike or balance low for a sweep at her feet. Few hits met flesh, but with byakugan Hinata watched the disruptions in the older woman's coils system and knew the effects would soon begin to appear as long as she held out.

Hinata connected two solid palm strikes to Kurenai's hip and the chakra swelled again for a genjutsu. Kurenai's chakra reappeared behind her but at a distance, and when Hinata turned to face her the fight had disappeared from her eyes. She held up both hands in yielding; with no deception in Kurenai's face, Hinata allowed herself to relax. It took a few minutes for Hinata to catch her breath. She couldn't remember the last time she'd fought so hard against someone.

The motherly warmth Hinata loved in Kurenai replaced the enemy hardness as Kurenai waited for her to recover. "Hinata, I won't attack this time, but I want you to look down."

She obeyed a little more hesitantly than the first time, which elicited a chuckle from her instructor. The kimono was a tattered mess. A kunai had sliced up part of the sleeve, while the tie hung limply over her hips, no longer attempting to hold anything closed. She was as good as fighting in her underwear for all the kimono did to cover her, and yet Hinata was almost too tired to care. Yes, if her face wasn't already flushed from the fight it would have found amazing colors to turn, but she must have been exposed for some time already. That knowledge seemed to lesson the embarrassment, or maybe it just lessened its importance. Keeping a close watch on her instructor, Hinata readjusted the kimono so she had at least the semblance of clothing again.

"It was easier, wasn't it?" Kurenai asked.

Hinata eyed her curiously. "What do you mean?"

Kurenai sat down and waved Hinata to join her. She made her way across the training yard and sat down with her legs tucked up against her chest.

"Wasn't it easier fighting once you stopped caring what you looked like and what showed?" Kurenai asked again. "Once you accepted the fact that you couldn't control what I saw, you fought without doubt or fear. You were able to fight like the boys do all the time. Now, part of this was to teach you that as a woman there may be times you'll find yourself forced to continue a mission in less than adequate clothing and you can't just stop to cover up. But for you, I also want you to understand the only person stopping you from fighting like you did just now all the time – is you. If you can learn to accept that you can't control what people think of you, then you can begin to have faith and trust in yourself."

Hinata tucked her chin atop her knees and sat quietly for a moment, thinking. It had been easier. Shino said she over-thought things, but when she'd fought Kurenai she focused only on what she had to do and then did it. She didn't worry about if it was right, because she knew she _had_ to do it.

"I think . . . I think I understand," she finally said, her voice muffled by the bare skin of her leg.

Kurenai smiled. "I want you to do more than understand. I want you to learn how to do it."

"I'll do my best," Hinata said with a definite nod.

"Well, we'll be putting that to the test soon enough," Kurenai said with a glimmer in her eyes that made Hinata's stomach drop.

"What do you mean?"

Kurenai tapped her ear and Hinata closed her eyes to listen. There was the sound of the breeze rustling the trees, the minor shifting of her and Kurenai, but other than that it was sil–

**BARK!**

Hinata's eyes shot open as panic set in. It couldn't be, because being dressed and fighting like that in front of Kurenai was one thing. She _couldn't_ be seen by Kiba!

"Remember I said my teacher forced me to do modesty removal?" Kurenai said in response to the muted terror on Hinata's face. "Well that wasn't just for me. It was for the whole team. The boys have to learn not to be distracted by a woman, too."

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Hinata cried. She couldn't be seen by both Kiba and Shino! Not dressed like that! How would she face them everyday if they saw her like this? Her clothes! She needed her clothes!

Hinata bolted from her place on the ground and ran for the bag still in the trees until her legs burned. She scrambled for the tree she changed under but the bag wasn't there. Byakugan searched the entire area; it was nowhere to be found. Her clothes were gone! She hurried back to the tree line, careful now that Kiba and Shino were getting closer by the second.

"Sensei, where are my clothes?" Tears welled up in her eyes as the thought her teammates would see her became more and more a reality.

Kurenai merely smiled. "I hid them while I had you in a genjutsu during the fight. I'm sure you three can find them quick enough."

No! Hinata needed them _before_ Kiba and Shino arrived. Akamaru's bark rang clear through the trees on the other side of the training yard, and Hinata ran further into the woods. She took cover behind some high underbrush next to a tree and searched for her clothes with byakugan again. They couldn't be far, she just had to look harder.

The bag was nowhere in the trees, so Hinata focused her sight back to the training yard and her heart dropped. Kiba and Shino were talking with Kurenai, who was pointing in the direction Hinata had run. She couldn't read lips, but Hinata had little doubt what her instructor was saying; the boys started that way.

She had to hide! But where could she hide that Kiba couldn't track her? A genjutsu might work on Kiba, but then Shino's kikaichuu would find her. Kurenai had done it on purpose. There was nowhere she could go that her team couldn't find her, and she couldn't return within a mile of the village dressed like that. Run. Her only choice was to run.

Hinata kept her duel vision on where Kiba and Shino were as she made her escape. She had a lead at the moment, but Kiba was faster than her and if she wasn't careful he'd overtake her. Through the treetops would've been faster, but if the boys were to get under her and look up with her wearing that . . . Hinata shook out the thought and turned diagonal away from her teammates to try and throw her trail a little. Kurenai must have been laughing at her; ignoring her appearance in favor of practicality was what she'd just tried to teach Hinata. But for Kiba and Shino to see her – that would be like Naruto seeing her!

Hinata ducked into a short shrubbery and forced herself to breathe again. She needed to stop thinking or she'd never be able to move again, let alone get away. _Why did it have to be _modesty_ removal?_ What was wrong with being modest?

Taking a deep breath to fortify herself, Hinata dashed out again. Her mini-panic attack had thrown her concentration off and Hinata furiously searched for Kiba and Shino's locations. Shino was less than a hundred yards away and closing fast. Kiba . . . Kiba was . . .

"Gotachya!"

A split second moved in eons between them. Hinata turned –unimaginably slow in that brief second– to face the smirking, arrogant features of her teammate, terror in her eyes. Behind her, Kiba's fangy grin slackened as his eyes caught up with his nose and he took in more of Hinata than he'd ever seen before. Time stopped as their eyes met.

Then it was action. Hinata leapt forward and struck a chakra-less palm strike to Kiba's chin, forcing his head up while her other hand yanked down the zipper of his jacket. In one seamless motion Hinata pulled the gray, fur-lined jacket off Kiba, spinning behind him to put it on, zip it up, and elbow her friend in the back hard enough to sprawl him across the ground. She yanked the hood up and clung to the closed front, feeling at least somewhat more protected. Unfortunately, Kiba's jacket wasn't any longer on her than the kimono and her legs still felt obscenely exposed.

A crack above her drew Hinata's eyes to her other teammate silently watching her from the treetop. To the naked eye Shino appeared no more surprised than any other occasion, but to Hinata's enhanced sight the slight widening of his eyes and the minute swallow when she faced him screamed of shock. Her gaze dropped from his face to the hem of his jacket, well onto his thigh . . . and Shino was taller than Hinata.

As if sensing the intent and not wanting to end up like Kiba, Shino shirked off his jacket and dropped it to the ground below. All the time his glasses were firmly locked on the trunk of the tree he was on. Hinata snatched up the second jacket before it hit the ground, putting it on over Kiba's (just watch Kurenai try and take these from her), and plopped down next to the nearest tree. She tucked her legs up into Shino's coat, buried her head against her curled legs, and yanked Kiba's hood down until the only skin visible was her fingers gripping the black fur trim.

No one spoke.

No one looked at each other.

No one moved except for Kiba to right himself on the ground.

Not even their first day together could have been more awkward than that very moment as they each tried to forget what they'd just witnessed. Akamaru padded quietly from his master to the bit of sandal poking out from beneath Shino's jacket and whimpered softly.

Slowly, Kiba stood up, his gaze still off into the empty woods. "You . . . you were pretty," he said awkwardly, eliciting a squeak of embarrassment from Hinata.

"Idiot," Shino commented as he dropped to the ground beside him.

"What am I supposed to say?" Kiba hissed in a whisper.

"I'm pretty sure nothing is preferable to anything that could be said," Shino answered. His shaded eyes never came close to looking Hinata's way.

They all fell silent again. With byakugan still active she could see them even without revealing herself. Shino fidgeted uncomfortably in his undershirt, the holes in his arms and chest obvious against his pale skin. Next to him Kiba started pacing, unable to remain stagnant any longer.

"Why the hell are you," Kiba blurt only to stop himself. " . . . I mean, why'd Kurenai-sensei . . . Arg I don't know what I mean!" He scratched furiously at his hair before plopping his forehead hard against the tree. "This is screwed up!"

Hinata couldn't bring herself to lift her head yet, but in a tiny voice that barely made it past the two jackets muffling her, she mumbled, "Modesty removal."

Kiba and Shino exchanged a glance before finally looking at the curled up figure of their teammate on the ground. Kiba asked for them, "You mean, Kurenai-sensei made you . . .?"

Hinata slipped her hand out in order to pull Kiba's hood down further over her, not that there was enough fabric to move any more than it had. The boys turned away again.

This was horrible. How could Kurenai do this to them? All Hinata wanted to do was run home and hide under her covers for the next month. How would she face her teammates day in and day out after this? How would they look at her the same way? Wasn't Kurenai supposed to be promoting team harmony or something like that? _Harmony_ was not what was going on between them right then.

As much as she loathed the idea of moving at all, because she was finally completely covered, there was one small matter that needed to be tended to. Shifting the hood back, Hinata maneuvered her head so that her eyes (and only her eyes) peeked out at the boys. "Kurenai-sensei has my clothes."

"She's not going to simply give them to you, is she?" Shino asked, rubbing his bare skin to push back the nervous bugs trying to come out.

"She said we have to find them," Hinata explained. "And we've _got_ to find them, because I can't go back to the compound dressed like this! If my grandfather saw me like this . . ." She buried her head back against her knees and willed herself to breathe again. Her grandfather _wouldn't_ find out. She didn't care what they had to do. They _would_ get her clothes back.

"Do you see them?" Shino asked.

Hinata took a deep breath and refocused her sight outward again, back to the training yard where Kurenai waited. Around her were half a dozen areas of concentrated chakra. Hinata took a deep breath and held it, counting to ten before exhaling. Fortified –or, more accurately, too desperate to keep hiding– Hinata lifted her head to her teammates. "She has multiple genjutsu around her."

"No doubt to force us to work together," Shino commented.

"Like we wouldn't help Hinata out," Kiba snorted. Though all three knew that wasn't what Shino meant, Kiba's usual crassness broke some of the tension between them. At least they were able to look at each other finally.

"Kiba-kun, if you can lead Shino-kun to the right spot, then his kikaichuu can retrieve my clothes from the genjutsu," Hinata instructed as she very carefully stood up from her crouch. Having both Kiba and Shino's jackets helped keep her steady and not hyperventilating with embarrassment. (Shino's most of all since it went almost to her knees.) "I'll keep Kurenai-sensei distracted."

"Leave it to us," Kiba said with his usual arrogant smirk. He was about to jump into the trees with a thought passed through his head and into his eyes for Hinata to see. "Um, Hina–"

"I'm keeping the jackets," she snapped, yanking the hood down over her eyes.

"Right! Going now!" Kiba rushed off before Hinata could repeat her earlier treatment of him.

Shino adjusted his glasses, an act that didn't seem nearly as casual without his jacket on. "Idiot," he muttered and disappeared into the trees.

When they were both gone, Hinata counted to ten again and forced herself to stop thinking about the look in their eyes when they first saw her, or the one that passed over Kiba just now. She was almost completely covered up and needed to get her clothes back. It seemed Kurenai's lesson was going to be learned after all. Necessity and desperation trumped modesty. Her grandfather was a hundred times scarier than anything Kiba or Shino might see (or had already seen).

She leapt into the trees this time to hasten the trip. It was strange feeling the wind on her legs, but Hinata shut that thought out. She focused on Kurenai. Their instructor waited patiently in the center of the training yard, an innocent smile on her face. Kiba and Shino were already swinging around to come up from behind her so Hinata would keep her attention from the front. She leapt down from the treetops without her earlier hesitation and a bright, loud laughter sounded from her instructor.

"The boys didn't stand a chance, I see," she chuckled, letting her mirth spread across her face. "Though, it's too bad. You really were quite pretty, Hinata. You should let people see you more often."

"I think they've seen more than enough," Hinata replied with more confidence in her voice than she felt.

"Okay, perhaps not that much," Kurenai conceded, "but a little more every now and again wouldn't hurt. If you learn anything, I hope it's that you don't need to hide yourself away behind your doubts, and how you present yourself physically is a reflection of how you feel mentally."

"Are you going to give me my clothes?" Hinata asked to change the subject. Sometimes what Kurenai said made more sense than Hinata cared to hear.

Kurenai shook her head. "And deny the boys the chance to steal them from me? They're around here somewhere, aren't they?"

They were, Hinata saw. In fact, judging by the expressions on their faces Kiba had figured out the area her clothes were in. Shino's swarm was leaving their nests, and Hinata realized why Aburame covered up so much. She'd gotten used to the knowledge that the bugs lived inside him, but seeing them come out of his sleeves was far less disconcerting than actually seeing them crawl out of his entire body. Considering the shudder that ran up Kiba's body, he was thinking the same thing.

"They're helping, yes," Hinata continued, slowly moving toward Kurenai. Depending on where the bugs went, she might have to force Kurenai to move.

"Now see, you're still able to work together. Better than my team, in fact. But then our puppy Kiba has nothing on the lewd mind Akito had."

Hinata watched Shino's bugs skirting the ground behind Kurenai, while her eyes physically remained on the woman herself. They were getting closer, but not so close Kurenai noticed yet. They headed for an area that appeared as barren as the rest of the field, yet soon enough they disappeared into a swell of glowing chakra.

A second before the chakra vanished from Hinata's sight, Kurenai quirked her head back. "There they are."

Hinata didn't wait to see if Kurenai was going to try and stop them. She thrust forward and snatched the white bag from Shino's kikaichuu the moment it appeared from beneath the genjustu, not stopping until she was certain _no one_ was following. For as long as it took her to change into the kimono, Hinata was out of it and back in her own wonderful, full-covering clothes in seconds. She almost put Kiba and Shino's jackets back on for good measure, but decided against it. It wasn't her teammates' fault their instructor decided to be completely evil.

Kiba and Shino were waiting with Kurenai in the training yard when Hinata finally convinced herself she needed to go back and not run straight home; she still had to return the boys' jackets after all. Once she was in ear shot, Kurenai started clapping.

"Congratulations, Hinata. You survived."

"That was horrible, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said as she handed the boys back their jackets.

"And yet I couldn't be more proud at how you lead your team to retrieve your clothes."

That stalled Hinata. Lead her team? She just needed her clothes back. She didn't lead the team.

The maternal softness warmed Kurenai's face as she stared at Hinata's befuddlement. "They told me it was your plan, your orders, and therefore you were the leader. I told you yesterday a leader needed confidence. Well, sometimes necessity can produce a leader where there wouldn't be one normally. _My_ instructor only forced my teammates to see me. I made you three do more, because I knew there was no way Hinata would ever return home without her clothes, and I hoped –successfully– that she'd be able to take command when she needed to."

There it was. That ability to make even the worst lessons become a good, only now it made the most horrible experience Kurenai could ever put them through seem positive. Hinata wanted nothing more than to hate every last moment of this day, but the more she thought back the more she realized she _had_ led them. She hadn't doubted herself or over-thought it; she simply knew what needed to be done and they did it. Hinata had actually led them and it was a success. Worst of all, she couldn't tell anyone about it without dying of embarrassment.

"Can I go home yet?" Hinata begged, both defeated and uplifted, which made her all together exhausted.

Kurenai failed to hide her laughter behind her hand and gazed down at the three of them. "Just one more thing. I'll tell you how my team got over the awkwardness of modesty removal."

All three genin were at full attention. They could use some advice on that.

"Forget this day ever happened. Never mention it. Never think about. Pretend you went home and nothing interesting happened at all today. And if you should ever get the inkling to talk about it to anyone," –Kurenai leveled a hard stare on Kiba and Shino– "go find Kurata Akito and ask him what it's like to spend twelve hours in a nightmare genjutsu for doing just that. Then imagine what Hinata would do in order to keep it secret. Understand?"

The two boys shrunk back and nodded in unison.


	25. Empty Nest

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Naomi headed for the front porch to see Neji and Hinata off for the day. Breakfast had been a rush of early mornings and late wake ups with little talk between the four of them. Getting them all together for the morning meal was difficult enough with Gai's belief that morning starts before the sun rises and the odd hours missions can take. She'd been pleased to see both her children at the table that day, even if it was brief.

Neji was already pulling on his sandals when she arrived at the front door. He spared a quick glance back to his mother before heading out. "Bye Mom, I'll be home late. Training!"

Before Naomi could call back to him, Hinata slipped around her and jumped into her sandals without even bending down to fix the back. "Sorry, Aunt Naomi, I'm running late. See you tonight."

"Have a good day," Naomi whispered to the empty porch as she closed the door behind her.

The halls were empty save for a couple housekeepers making their daily rounds. The laundry was done, the kitchen already cleaned from breakfast, and there wouldn't be any important guests to prepare for for months. Naomi walked through the polished, waiting rooms of the main house and found not a cushion out of place. It was perfectly ready to be lived in.

Naomi sighed.

She headed towards to Hizashi's office. Footsteps could be heard as she turned the corner and came face to face with her husband heading the opposite direction.

"Naomi," he said, surprised to find her there. "Were you coming to see me?"

She shrugged. "Just a visit. Do you have to be somewhere?"

"Father wants to see me to go over Hinata's progress," Hizashi groaned. Going over Hinata's progress was the nice way to say Hyobe wanted to complain that Hinata wasn't spending enough time preparing to take over the clan.

Naomi smiled rubbed his arm consolingly. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks," he laughed. An odd expression crossed his face as he looked on her, and Hizashi placed a hand on hers still on his arm. "Naomi, is everything all right?"

"Of course. I just came by to visit, nothing's wrong."

Hizashi kept his hand on hers, and his pale eyes scanned her face the way only a Hyuuga could.

"Honestly, Hizashi, absolutely nothing's wrong," Naomi insisted, almost laughing at her husband's skepticism.

"Come here," Hizashi demanded, and he led the way back to his office.

"Don't you have to meet with Hyobe-sama?" she asked. Naomi knew he was blowing whatever he thought he saw out of proportion, but the earnest worry in his eyes forced her to follow.

"Father can wait," he said as he closed the door behind them.

Once alone and away from prying eyes, Hizashi moved in close and kissed her. By itself, the open affection was enough to catch Naomi off guard, but it was also slow and tender and filled with all the love he felt for her. She knew what he'd seen in her after that kiss.

He lingered a moment longer, his eyes staring into hers. "Naomi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she repeated, but the lightness had left her voice. "There's nothing wrong. There's nothing out of place. There's absolutely nothing for me to do." She pulled away and sat down in the chair reserved for guests. There was an emptiness in her gaze as she traced the lines in the stained wooden floors.

"It was easier when the children were home more often," she continued, "but now . . . I feel like I should be decorated and put on display for all the use I am in the house. The servants do the cooking and cleaning, you have your duties as clan head, and I . . . I'm just here."

Hizashi knelt down so he was on more even ground with his sitting wife and took her hands in his. "Have you thought about going back on active duty?"

Naomi shook her head, but her avoiding gaze betrayed the truth. "I don't know. It's been so long and I'm sure Hyobe-sama would disapprove of the clan head's wife off gallivanting in the woods somewhere."

"I don't give a shit what Father thinks," Hizashi spat, which earned a genuine smile from Naomi. "What I care about is you. When we had Neji, you never planned to give up your career forever. We agreed you'd go back once he entered the academy. It's only because we moved to the main house that you didn't. Maybe it's time you went back."

Naomi couldn't deny the appeal returning to work offered. It wasn't a lack of confidence that was stopping her –Naomi had continued her jyuuken training over the years– but she understood the image of the main family. She might not have been technically main family, but so long as Hizashi was acting clan head she was by-proxy a part of it. And the main family existed for the clan. Not for the village, the clan. No matter how 'branch' she was, if Naomi decided to return to active duty it would appear as if she were shirking her duties to the clan.

Hizashi watched the silent thoughts pull her away from her desires and lifted her hands to press gently against his lips. "Naomi, forget the clan, forget my father, forget the children. Answer me, truthfully, what will make you happy?"

Naomi closed her eyes and exhaled all her doubts. "I want to feel useful again. I _need_ to feel useful again."

"Then there's no choice to make," Hizashi said softly. "I'm sure Hokage-sama will understand there'll be times you'll be needed here, but until then go back to work and let me worry about dealing with my father. He's already upset with me enough, one more thing won't hurt."

Naomi leaned in and rested her forehead against his. Her smile was finally free of all the loneliness that had stopped Hizashi in the hall. "Promise you won't get jealous that I'm having adventures out of the clan?" she joked.

"Oh, I'll be jealous, all right," he chuckled, "but I'd rather be jealous that you're happy, than content with you being miserable."

Naomi lifted their still joined hands and caressed his cheek. "Sometimes you remind me why I love you."

"And the rest of the time?"

"The rest of the time I remind you why it's good to keep me happy," she answered with a coy smirk and a far, far too playful kiss. "How long are you willing to keep your father waiting?"

Hizashi rose up and pulled her close until her legs straddled him. "Father? What father?"


	26. A Little Piece of Paper

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Neji's eye twitched slightly. It was too early in the morning for 'male bonding,' especially when Gai attempted to drag him into the equation. Honestly, just because Tenten hadn't arrived yet to help him balance the insanity level of their team didn't mean he wanted to join Lee and Gai in their proclamations of youthful energy before the sun rose (or ever).

"Ah finally," Neji sighed when Tenten appeared in the distance. He waited for her to join them before leaning in, an annoyed glower on his face. "You left me with them."

"I ran late, so sue me," she snipped back.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Maybe tomorrow I'll run late and you can see what it's like."

Tenten flashed him a smirky little grin. "Unlike you, I've figured out how to deal with them. You need to learn to relax more often."

"You know I can tell when you're lying, right?"

"Am I?" Tenten asked, that frustrating smile still taunting him.

Neji scowled. "Just be on time."

"TENTEN!" Gai bellowed, separating from his exaggerated conversation with Lee long enough to notice her arrival.

Tenten said relax? That was an impossibility in this team. One day Neji was going to figure out which tenketsu would affect vocal cords and forever more attack only there when he sparred with his instructor. Perhaps after a few years of that Gai would sound like a normal human being.

. . . one could hope.

"Wonderful!" Gai continued, oblivious to anything outside his own delusional world. "Now that everyone's here, I can finally tell you the most amazing and exciting news!"

If he weren't so formidable when he was serious, Neji would have no respect for the man. But he was formidable, and reluctant as it was, Neji did respect him . . . to a degree. Still, Neji remained skeptical. For Gai, 'amazing and exciting news' could be anything from they were getting a B-rank mission to he found the perfect plant that encompasses the very meaning of SPRING! and had decided to eat nothing but it to remain young and energized for the rest of his life. Neji always hoped for the former but expected the latter.

Gai reached into his vest, eyeing all three students with extended dramatic pause, and pulled out three slips of paper. "Congratulations! You may officially enter the upcoming chuunin exam!"

Neji blinked. Did he hear that right? After all this time they'd finally get to enter the chuunin exam?

Lee was already leaping for joy with one of the slips of paper clinging to his chest when Neji reached forward and took one himself. At the top of the paper, written in official calligraphy, were the words "Application for Chuunin Exam – Village: Konoha." It was true. For once Gai hadn't exaggerated, this was amazing and exciting news . . . and long overdue in Neji's opinion.

"When's the chuunin exam?" Tenten asked excitedly. Her brown eyes were practically alight with anticipation.

"The first phase begins tomorrow," Gai beam proudly. "In order to take the exam you must have a three man team. It is ultimately a test of you each individually, but first you must prove that you can work together as a team. I have faith in all of you. There is no finer genin team in all of Konoha!"

Neji looked at his teammates. Lee had calmed during Gai's speech, but was now bawling at their teacher's feet. He wasn't the same idiot as he had been when they were fresh out of the academy. Gai had turned him into a wholly new breed of idiot, but that breed was also a capable fighter in his own right and fast as hell. On the other side, Tenten ogled her application while quietly bouncing on her feet unable to contain her excitement in still repose. Her accuracy with weaponry was already almost scary; he could only imagine what she'd become in a few more years. He trusted her . . . he trusted them both (not that he'd admit that) . . .

Add in his skill in jyuuken and the advantages byakugan gave them and Gai was right. There was no better genin team in all of Konoha. They weren't going to enter the chuunin exam, they'd conquer it.

* * *

Hinata waited quietly with Akamaru content in her lap (the pup had snuck in while his master went off into the woods to relieve himself. A few feet away Shino stood in silence, an act Hinata admitted was easier without their other teammate. Kurenai had asked them to meet her, but it appeared she was running late. Rare, but it happened every once in a while.

"Where's our pup run off to?" Kurenai's pleasant voice called from behind them.

Akamaru hopped up to peer over Hinata's shoulder and barked, his tail wagging happily.

"Wrong pup," she laughed, running a hand between Akamaru's ears affectionately.

"You called, Sensei?" Kiba huffed as he exited the trees. He flashed Akamaru an agitated glare and the white dog obediently leapt out of Hinata's hold to return to his spot in Kiba's jacket.

"Good, you're all here. I have something important to discuss with all of you." Kurenai waited for Kiba to return to the group before continuing. "I have news that could affect this team, and I'm afraid I can't help you make the decision you're going to have to make."

Hinata stood up as Kurenai spoke, the gravity of their instructor's words in every line and strain on Kurenai's face. "What's happened, Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai reached into her sleeve and pulled out three slips of paper. "These are your applications for the chuunin exam. Congratulations."

"The chuunin exam!" Kiba howled. "We get to take the chuunin exam already?"

Shino was quiet, but the buzz of unseen insects told them he too was excited. Hinata smiled to them both. Even though she wouldn't be joining them, she was still happy for them. Not even Neji had entered the chuunin exam yet.

Kurenai pulled the papers back before Kiba could snatch one from her hand. "Before you get too excited, I need to explain a few things. You're going to have to decide whether or not you're willing to risk entering right now."

"What's there to think about?" Kiba scoffed, a fangy smirk permanently lodged on his face. "Of course we're going to enter."

"Kiba," Kurenai said so quietly and with such seriousness it silenced all three. "The first half of the chuunin exam is team based in squads of three. Unfortunately, the number of genin entering means that for you and Shino to enter, Hinata must as well."

"But . . . but I don't want to be a chuunin," Hinata whispered as her teammates gazes fell on her.

"I'm afraid there's no other choice. It must be a team of three, and there are no extra genin to take your place." Kurenai sighed and placed a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder. "If you enter, you'll have the option of withdrawing once the exam goes to individual assessment, however there's some time between the team and individual tests. I'm worried your grandfather will force you to continue if the three of you make it that far."

"What would happen to the team if Hinata _did _make chuunin?" Shino asked. He was as calm as ever, but Hinata heard the concern in his voice. Not for his future, but the future of their team, all three of them.

"Most likely since you three are still considered rookie genin, if Hinata were to be made chuunin and return to the clan, you'd remain a two man team until the next year's genin are chosen and one of them would replace her." Kurenai stepped back and handed the three applications to Hinata. "Like I said, I can't help you make this choice. The three of you will have to decide on your own."

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino waited in an uneasy silence as Kurenai left them alone to make a choice they didn't want to make.

"This is screwed up!" Kiba yelled at the open air. "I really wanna enter, but I don't want the team broken up."

"Just because I enter, doesn't mean I _will_ be made chuunin," Hinata offered in a weak voice.

"But there's a distinct possibility," Shino warned.

She'd always found chuunin to be a foreboding idea, because it would end her life outside the clan, but somehow staring at the thin slips of paper in her hands made it terrifying. She didn't want to become a chuunin. She wasn't ready to leave them yet.

"Would your grandpa really force you to go through with the individual tests if you wanted to drop out?" Kiba asked, searching for some way to make this work out.

Hinata nodded. She had no doubt with how adamant he was when she became genin, and his continued complaints on how little time she had to prepare that he'd never allow her to pass up the chance to become chuunin and be forced to return to the clan. And she had faith in her team; she believed they would pass the team portion.

Kiba growled a deep, snarling sound better suited for beast than man. "Arg! This sucks!"

Shino was the only calm one, his thoughts better hidden under the safety of his glasses. After a few minutes of awkward, frustrated silence, Shino finally spoke up. As usual, because he was so reserved, when he did speak it held their attention. "If the chance to become chuunin comes at the risk of losing the team, then I vote we don't enter until it's not required for Hinata join us."

Kiba spat at the ground, his face twisted in anger, but not at Shino or Hinata. It took a moment more, but finally he nodded. "Me too, I don't wanna lose the team. Not yet."

Hinata didn't know if the tears threatening to break free were from the loyalty she felt in her teammates and their willingness to sacrifice for her, or the gnawing, clawing sense of self-hatred ripping her up inside. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She'd worked so hard to not feel like she was holding them back, and here she was doing just that. All because of her stupid clan rules made by her stupid grandfather. It wasn't fair to them. To any of them.

Hinata stared at the three applications in her hands and took a deep breath. "NO! We're going to enter."

"Hinata–" Shino started but the determination in her eyes stopped him.

"We're entering," she repeated, holding out the applications for them to take. "I'll withdraw after the team portion and if my grandfather doesn't like it, well . . . well I don't care. You guys deserve to try for chuunin, and I'm not ready to leave this team. So I'm not going to."

An arrogant, toothy grin curled Kiba's lips. "Yeah, you tell that bastard!"

"Hinata," Shino said, his brown eyes watching her over the top of his glasses, "are you sure you want to stand up to him?"

She nodded without hesitation. Hyobe always wanted her to be more assertive; he just better be okay with the fact it'll be against him.

A slight smirk crossed Shino's normally passive face. He reached out and took one of the applications from Hinata. "Then we're entering."


	27. Hyuuga Twins' Omake

I thank my friend LexKixAss for letting me abscond her twins for my story.

* * *

Osamu: *_kicks his brother*_ Otouto, our guests have arrived.

Isamu: Ah, so they have. *_straightens up and waves at readers*_ Hello everyone, welcome to Sessy-sama's first (and maybe last) Hyuuga Twins' Omake!

Osamu: Otouto, not everyone reading may know what an omake is, let alone why we're hosting it. Why don't you explain?

Isamu: No problem, Aniki. *_waves readers forward and whispers*_ You see, omake means super-handsome and funny, which is why we're the on–

Osamu: *_smacks Isamu and shoves him out of sight*_ Ignore him. Omake actually means 'extra' in Japanese and in the case of anime and manga–

Isamu: *_pops up* _ Or fanfiction.

Osamu: *_rolls his eyes*_ Yes, or fanfiction, you –the reader– are treated with a little extra tidbit from us. And since these extras are usually comedic . . .

Isamu: Who better to host it than us! The only Hyuugas with a sense of humor.

Osamu: A constant one, at least.

Isamu: *_raises hand_* Aniki, I've got a question.

Osamu: _*quirks brow up*_

Isamu: Why, if these are suppose to be extras, did Sessy-sama wait twenty-six chapters before letting us out to play with the audience?

Osamu: *_crosses arms and nods head sagely* _That's a very good question, Otouto. Well, the most obvious reason is that before now Sessy-sama has had the privilege of making up the entire story, but with the chuunin exam starting and the Hyuugas and their teams becoming a serious part of the canon, she has to go back and re-watch old episodes to make sure what she writes fits in with the events that happen outside the clan, which could take a bit of time.

Isamu: _*skeptical*_ Is that all? She could just wait to post the next chapter like the other times her life got in the way.

Osamu: Well, since she can write on her off hours at work but not watch episodes to help with the next chapter, she got bored. Crack tends to happen when writers get bored. Plus, she's been missing us. We haven't even been referenced since Chapter 22 when I shoved it in your face that you're ~_in love_~ with Hinata-sama.

Isamu: _*redfaced*_ Aniki! Do you have to mention that?

Osamu: Of course I do. *_smiles*_

Isamu: And I'm not in love. I just . . . care about her. *_looks away_*

Osamu: Right. Anyway, Sessy-sama's been missing us and with the chuunin exam starting we won't be appearing again for a while. So she thought what better way to play with us and say 'Hi' to all her lovely readers than to write an omake!

Isamu: You know, Aniki, if we could play nice with others and had stayed on active duty, we could've been helping with the chuunin exam and then we'd have been an active part of the story again. Then Sessy-sama wouldn't have needed an omake.

Osamu: True, but then you wouldn't get to make googly eyes at Hinata-sama every time she leaves and comes home. *_makes kissy face*_

Isamu: I do not make googly eyes at Hinata-sama!

Osamu: Otouto and Hinata-sama sitting in a tree. K–I–S–S–I–N–G!

Isamu: *_hides behind randomly placed rock* _I hate you, Aniki. Just wait till you have a crush on someone.

Osamu: You know, that's a good point. *_looks up into empty air_* Hey, Sessy-sama! Can I have a girlfriend or something? I _am_ sixteen already. Let me at least have a flirt-buddy.

Isamu: *_glowers_* I hope she ignores you.

Osamu: *_smirks_* Be careful, Otouto, we're still young, who knows what plans she has for you.

Isamu: *_shrinks down_* Is there a point to this omake?

Osamu: Why yes there is, dear brother. Thanks for bringing us to it. *_clears throat and smiles at readers_* So then, since it seems to be a tradition is manga serials and since this story has managed to span nearly ten years now with plenty of characters to play with in and out of the clan, Sessy-sama thought it'd be fun for you, the readers, to vote on your favorite and least favorite characters! If people vote (and don't completely hate the idea of this omake) then we'll get to pop up again later on with the results.

Isamu: *_pleads with readers_* Don't hate us, we just want love.

Osamu: And screen time.

Isamu: Wouldn't it be 'page time' for us?

Osamu: They're reading us on a computer screen, aren't they?

Isamu: Ah, good point.

Osamu: So vote! We want to come back before the chuunin exam ends!

Isamu: And I'd like to win, so vote for me! At least let me beat Aniki.

Osamu: *_smacks Isamu with paper fan_* Just for that, if we do come back I'm going to bring Hinata-sama as _my_ special guest.

Isamu: *_pouts in corner_* I hate you, Aniki.

Osamu: That's okay, Otouto. *_turns back to reader_* Anyway, Sessy-sama would also like to thank everyone who's been following the story so far. She loves reading all your comments and predictions for the future. She'll do her best to continue to entertain you with our messed up family.

Osamu and Isamu: Thanks for joining us. *_waves to reader_* See you soon, we hope.

* * *

Isamu: *_sneaks back in and waves at Lexkixass_* Hi, Mom!


	28. Rookie Reunion

As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Neji could hardly believe it. They were finally entering the chuunin exam. Not that it wasn't long overdue. If only Gai had entered them earlier. He disliked the fact that Hinata would be competing against them. And not just because of his ego that his little sister had the opportunity to become chuunin right away (though he couldn't deny it stung a bit). But also, and more importantly, because if their teams were to face each other it would be awkward. The shinobi part of him knew that he'd need to defeat them if they were pitted against one another, but the brother in him would no doubt want to let her go, while the brancher in him said he needed to protect her. He had to wonder if this conflicting loyalty, village versus clan, wasn't one of the reasons that the main family didn't become shinobi. It released branchers of making a choice between them in the event of the unforeseen.

A wholly different part of him was pleased to think he might get the chance to see what Hinata had learned from her team. They still sparred here and there, but Neji hadn't seen his sister in a serious fight for over a year. He'd love to see what the Inuzuka and Aburame managed to teach her. The sheer fact that she'd said she was going to drop out no matter what Hyobe thought proved _something_ had changed thanks to her team. (Even if that fact was told to Neji alone. She'd gotten confident, not stupid.)

"Hey, I've got an idea," Lee said as they entered the academy building where the first test was to be held. "Since it's our first time, let's not show off anything until later on. That way everyone will ignore us and them BAM! We'll show them how full of vigor and guts we are!"

Ignoring the fact that Neji did indeed have internal organs, he tended to think he didn't actually possess what Lee and Gai referred to as 'guts.' It felt like a contagious disease coming from them. Still, Lee's suggestion was sound. They'd only been genin for over a year, so much like the rookies that were entering, they'd have ambiguity on their side.

"All right, but that means suppressing our chakra as well," Neji said, and his teammates nodded.

"How do you want to handle Hinata?" Tenten asked as they headed up the stairs. "We may be forced to go against her team."

Neji sighed. "If we can avoid meeting them, let's try. It's not just I don't want to fight her, but she knows our team and our skills, same as I know her team. If it's unavoidable, well, this is a test for our team, and we'll win."

Tenten nodded, pleased by the answer. Her grin stalled a little as she sensed what Neji did at the top of the stairs. "Did we enter a genjutsu?"

"I think so," Neji remarked. "But let's see what happens first. Lee suggested not showing off, and it looks like others haven't noticed yet, besides, Lee's too far ahead to warn about it."

Sometimes . . . no, oftentimes Lee's enthusiasm got him into trouble, as did his lack of skill in genjutsu and ninjutsu. Their teammate would just have to learn the hard way along with all the other genin congregating at the false door ahead.

Neji didn't like the look of the thugs blocking the door, but he liked them a lot less when Lee was thrown to the ground from their punch. The idiots wouldn't have laid a finger on Lee if he wasn't holding back.

Tenten went to check on Lee before stepping up herself, "Please, just let us pass."

Neji almost snorted. Guess Tenten was going for the damsel in distress routine. It really didn't suit her. Her eyes betrayed her. Neji saw the slight tenseness as she braced for the hit both of them saw coming and was toss to the ground next to Lee. The idiot had better hope he didn't meet them in the real test, or he'd be finding weapons in places he didn't know he had.

Neji was deciding whether or not to show off enough to call them on their genjutsu when a new team stepped up from the back of the group. He held his mouth, if only because he didn't want to give the brat the honor of being noticed in the group – no matter how much he hated the blond mop.

Oddly enough it wasn't the boy he knew, but the one he didn't that _actually_ caught his attention. The black haired boy stood in front of his teammates with an arrogant smirk on his face. "Why don't you drop that genjutsu and let us pass. We have somewhere to be."

Neji helped Tenten and Lee up, but kept his eyes on the newcomer. So he'd noticed the genjutsu as well.

"You noticed it first, didn't you, Sakura?" he continued, his dark eyes offering not a compliment, but a boost of confidence to his teammate.

Neji noticed the immediate shift in the pink-haired girl's demeanor. Before she'd been hesitant, almost regretting following her teammates, but with his simple comment her back straightened and a little hint of fire lit in her eyes. "Of course. This isn't the third floor."

Neji watched as the other genin (sadly including Lee) stared in shock as the number above the room morphed from 301 to 201. It almost made him feel more confident about the upcoming exam. If the seasoned genin were easier to trick than one of the rookie sets, he had to wonder how difficult it was going to be – and how interesting that made the new rookies.

The idiot blocking their way was less impressed. "Well, not too bad, but all you've done is catch on," he said, the intent in his flashing only a second before he kicked.

The black-haired boy read the speed easily and moved to match him, but before Tenten or Neji could stop him, Lee jumped between them and blocked both their kicks easily. So much for not showing off.

"Lee, what happened to not showing off before we have to?" Neji complained as Lee released the two opponents and the two thugs slunk away.

"Sorry, Neji."

Lee wasn't sorry, at least that was the emotion most prevalent in his face. For once Neji truly wished he wasn't so good at reading people, because he didn't want to think about what his teammate was about to do. Beside him, Tenten shook her head in exasperation.

Lee proudly strutted in his skin-tight green jumpsuit to the pink-haired girl, Sakura, who had no idea what she was about to be subject to. "My name's Rock Lee. Your name's Sakura, right?"

She nodded uncertainly.

Lee stuck up his thumb and pinged the best Nice Guy Pose he could muster. "Please go out with me! I'll protect you until I die!"

"Absolutely not," Sakura answered with all the fear and dread a person would if a demon came up and asked for their soul. "You're way too intense."

What girl _would_ accept a proposal like that? And why was Lee so surprised by it! Dear God, Neji and Tenten needed to stress the importance of boundaries with him. And now he was depressed. Lee was going to be the death of their team, or at least the one that sends them all to the asylum.

"Hey wait," Neji called to the black-haired boy as the three were walking away. "What's your name?" He didn't care about Naruto or the girl, but there was potential in that one's dark eyes. Enough potential to interest him.

The boy stopped and looked back annoyed. "It's pretty rude to ask someone's name without giving yours first."

Neji leveled a glare that the boy returned with an arrogant smirk added in.

"Wait a second," Naruto said, shoving his teammate aside, much to the boy's aggravation. "I know you. You're Hinata's brother."

Neji groaned inwardly. He wouldn't groan outwardly, because that would've ruined the calm, detached look he was going for with all his potential opponents, but to have to admit Naruto's existence . . . Neji really wanted to groan outwardly, too.

"I still have a score to settle with you," Naruto seethed, pointing a finger in Neji's face that he was very tempted to break. "I never got the chance to beat you up for leaving Hinata there that day."

_He_ had a score to settle with _Neji_? Over something Neji'd apologized for and been forgiven? While Naruto get s free ride on hurting her just because he's an oblivious idiot! If Neji didn't love his sister so much he'd have beaten Naruto to a pulp long ago.

Neji leaned in with a sinister delight reserved for anyone who hurt his sister simmering in his pale eyes. "I hope we get the chance to fight. I've been waiting years for an excuse to make you beg for mercy, and when I'm done with my warm up, I'll move on to your friend who might actually force me to fight seriously."

Turning his back on Naruto, Neji motioned to Tenten and Lee to follow as he walked away to a beautiful chorus of angry shouts. Okay, that was worth acknowledging Naruto's existence.

"Lee, aren't you coming," Tenten called, drawing Neji attention back at their teammate.

Lee hesitated, still looking back at where Naruto's team was going. (Naruto looked like he was being forced by Sakura, which amused Neji even more.) "You guys go ahead, there's something I want to check out."

Tenten watched as Lee ran off. "I wonder what that's about."

"Knowing Lee, it's better if we don't understand."

"You know," Tenten started, slipping into step beside him, "for as much as you complain about Lee, you're just like him sometimes."

Neji stopped in his tracks. For a solid moment all Neji's higher brain functions ceased as the idea of Neji and Lee being similar was too difficult of a concept to comprehend. When his mind finally started again, he simply stared at Tenten's grinning face. "I am not like Lee."

"Not all the time," Tenten chuckled in that birdlike chirp of hers, "but when it comes to Hinata you can be just as over the top and exaggerated as him."

"That's different," Neji insisted as Tenten walked away. "I'm not like Lee!"

Tenten was still smirking her face off when they made it to the proper third floor and entered the room assigned for the first part of the chuunin exam. The room was huge and for a minute Neji and Tenten just took in everything.

There were more people than he'd anticipated, but then this wasn't merely a test for Konoha's genin. All the hidden villages were participating in this. It was rather surprising to see the ages, too. While there were a number around their age, meaning early genin, there were more who were older and no doubt far more experienced in taking this exam than them. Suddenly the exam was real. It was this room waiting to be started. Neji could feel the excitement –plain, normal, not youthful or gutsy in any way excitement– boiling inside him.

"Neji-niisan!"

Neji turned to the familiar voice of his sister near the far wall. Her teammates followed as she made her way across the room to join them. Shino was still as hard to read as ever. Neji assumed it took a lot of time and motivation to learn to read an Aburame the way Hinata could. Neji had and wanted neither. Kiba was an easier target. The arrogance was practically an intense cologne wafting around him. Hinata ran up and gave him a hug, an action only she and his mother could get away with in the edgy atmosphere of the room full of people he'd want to make think twice before attacking him. _Hugging_ tended to make people fear less, not more.

"I see you made it past the genjutsu," he commented when she let go and rejoined her team.

"Sheesh, if we got caught in something that weak, Kurenai-sensei would send us back to the academy," Kiba scoffed and Akamaru yipped in agreement.

There were advantages to having a genjutsu user as their instructor, Neji supposed. Just as it was advantageous for him to have someone as fast and skilled in taijutsu as Gai as his instructor. They each learned to handle the skills of their teachers.

Neji didn't want to ask the question he was about to, but Hinata would know the answer, even if it would elicit a very predictable reaction in her. "Hey, Hinata, who's the other guy on Naruto's team?"

"Naruto-kun's team?" she repeated. A slight warmth filled her eyes and her lips tugged up before his name finished passing through them.

Neji hated that look. Why couldn't she have hated him after he broke her heart?

"Oh, you must mean Sasuke," Kiba answered for her. "Wait, is their team here, too?"

Neji nodded. "We saw them stuck at the genjutsu earlier."

Tenten sent him a suspicious glare. What? So Neji felt like insulting Naruto in front of his sister. Tenten told him all the time he had a sister complex, was this really a surprise to her?

"Ha!" Kiba bellowed. "And Sasuke thinks he's all high and might just cause he's an Uchiha."

"He was top of our class," Shino added, sounding disinterested in the whole conversation. But then, to Neji, Shino always sounded disinterested.

"Wait, you mean the other guy on Naruto's team is Uchiha Sasuke?" Neji asked. If that was true that explained the potential he sensed in the boy. The only surviving Uchiha left in Konoha would be an interesting opponent.

"Eh? Don't tell me you're worried about one of the rookies?" Tenten asked with the barest smirk.

Neji scoffed at his teammate. "Curious and worried are two very different things."

"Forget about Sasuke, you should be worried about meeting up with us," Kiba huffed. "We're not going to lose to you."

"Kiba-kun," Hinata pleaded, "you promised we'd avoid them if we could."

"You're not supposed to tell them that," Kiba hissed back quietly.

Tenten merely chuckled to herself. "Like brother, like sister."

Lee entering the room quelled any smart retort Neji was conjuring up for Tenten. Just before the door closed Neji caught a glimpse of Gai heading back down the hallway (he was hard to miss). Lee looked disappointed, but Neji couldn't figure out why.

"Did you find whatever you went after?" Tenten asked as Lee joined their group which had migrated away from the main entryway.

"Yeah, but Gai-sensei found me breaking one of his rules and . . . and . . ."

Neji slyly stepped back behind Tenten. Lee got grabby when he got emotional, and if Tenten hadn't shook him and snapped at him to 'get a grip' he probably would have started crying. Tenten really did know how to handle Lee better than him.

"So what were you doing anyway?" Neji asked, back to his former spot now that Lee wasn't about to burst into tears of remorse.

"I went to profess my love for Sakura-chan, again," Lee said, earning a roll of the eyes from Tenten, "and also offer a manly challenge to Uchiha Sasuke, the black-haired one of their team, and when I tried to use lotus on him, that's when Gai-sensei stopped me."

"You fought with the Uchiha?" Neji asked, eager to hear how well he faired against Lee. Lee might not have natural talent, but after a year and a half under Gai's tutelage, his taijutsu was top-notch.

Lee nodded.

"Did you kick his ass?" Kiba asked before Neji could in less crude terminology.

"He seems like he would be a worthy opponent," Lee said almost by way of qualifying his ego (not something he got to do often against Neji), "but he couldn't keep up with my speed, and I would've caught him in my lotus if Gai-sensei hadn't stepped in."

Kiba burst out laughing. "Man, I would've paid to see that."

"You may still get the chance in the exam," Shino offered coolly. Neji wouldn't have thought much of it, but Hinata covered her mouth to hide a chuckle. She'd seen something else in her teammate's blandness.

"Speak of the devil," Tenten whispered, as the doors opened again and this time Naruto's team entered, the Uchiha at the lead.

Sasuke had potential, no doubt, and Neji would love to fight against him, but the fact he couldn't evade Lee renewed Neji's confidence. This chuunin exam would be theirs to conquer.

"Come on, let's go say hi," Kiba said with a smirk. "I wanna go rub it in that Sasuke got his ass kicked before the exam even started."

"Bye Neji-niisan, and good luck," Hinata said before going after her teammates.

The smile on her face only made Neji hope even more they got a chance to go up against that team. He'd finally settle things with Naruto and then see what the Uchiha had to offer.

"You know, it didn't make sense earlier why you hated that blond boy so much, but I think I figured it out," Tenten said.

"Oh, did you now," he replied as they sat down in the empty seats Lee found.

"Yup, she likes him, doesn't she?" Tenten taunted just low enough Lee couldn't hear. "The big brother in you can't stand it."

Neji avoided answering her and instead chose to glare at every random person that met his gaze. That wasn't entirely true –he hadn't loathed Naruto until Hinata had gotten hurt– but for Hinata's sake he kept his mouth shut and let Tenten think what she wanted. Hopefully he'd get a chance to vent in the first test.

* * *

Hinata caught up with her team in time to hear Shikamaru sigh, "You guys, too?"

They were all there, Shikamaru and Chouji, and Ino hanging from Sasuke's neck like a strange personal ornament, and Sakura and –Hinata's smile brightened– Naruto. All nine of them would get to take their first chuunin exam together. Hinata was rather glad she'd been forced to join them now. She wouldn't have wanted to miss this.

"So all nine rookies are taking the exams," Kiba remarked, his arrogant gaze falling on Sasuke. "Now then, how far can we all go? Eh, Sasuke-_kun_?"

Sasuke brushed it off as well as he could with Ino hanging off his neck. "You're pretty confident, Kiba."

"Yeah, well we've been training pretty hard, so we won't be losing to any of you, especially not one who had his ass handed to him before the first test." Akamaru yipped in quick succession so that it almost sounded like he was laughing.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed while behind him Ino glared daggers at Kiba. Hinata had warned him once he could come off as too arrogant, but Kiba had just laughed and said it was half the fun. The glee in his eyes confirmed it right then.

"How'd you know about that fight?" Sakura snapped, not liking anyone insulting Sasuke.

Kiba held up a hand, not as an unconscious gesture, but to keep Hinata from telling the truth like she was about to. "If you don't know I guess that just makes us the better ninjas."

"Eh, so Sasuke got beat up before the exam started?" Shikamaru drawled sounding both interested and uninterested at the same time. Shikamaru, like Shino, was sometimes hard to read (thought not nearly as hard as Shino).

"The fight was interrupted," Sakura argued. "Sasuke-kun could've taken him."

"I don't know," Kiba continued, loving the ruse, "that lotus would've done some damage." Hinata knew Kiba had no idea what Lee's lotus actually did, but the name was enough to piss off all three members of Sasuke's team.

"What do you know about it?" Naruto snapped, making Hinata really want to tell the truth, but Kiba hurried to answer before she could.

"I'm not about to tell you. The ninjas with the best information wins, you know."

"Hyuuga," Sasuke remarked, his eyes on Hinata. "Naruto said it; the other guy on Lee's team was Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's brother. They must have heard from them."

"We were saying hi when Lee-kun arrived," Hinata explained to Naruto more than Sasuke. She avidly avoided Kiba's (rather knowing) gaze as her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink.

Unfortunately for her, it was Sasuke who continued and not Naruto. "So you know about Rock Lee?"

Hinata's brow furrowed a little. "Only what Neji-niisan tells me, and I've seen them spar once or twice."

"How strong is he?" Sasuke pressed.

It made Hinata feel a little uncomfortable. Like Kiba said, the ninja with the most information had the advantage, but they were all friends, sort of, and –her eyes glanced at Naruto– it was for Naruto's team. Neji, Lee, and Tenten would be able to handle themselves even if she shared a little.

"Lee-kun's gotten much better in taijutsu since he became genin," she explained, "Neji-niisan was surprised just how much he's improved, though he still can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu apparently. He still can't beat Neji-niisan yet either, but then Neji-niisan's _really_ strong."

"Lee said he was the strongest genin from Konoha," Sakura commented.

Hinata nodded. "I'd believe that."

"_Hinata_," Kiba growled, "have a little more faith in us."

Hinata lowered her gaze to the ground and mumbled, "You've never actually fought Neji-niisan before. He's not called the genius of the Hyuuga clan for nothing."

"I don't care," Kiba snapped, a little gentler than he would to anyone else, "if we have to fight them we're still gonna win, genius or not, and you'd better not hold back just cause he's family."

"Well I hope we get to fight him," Naruto said, stepping ahead of Sasuke so he could look at Hinata directly. "I still have to beat him up for what he did."

"What _are_ you talking about Naruto?" Sakura fussed.

"It's nothing," Hinata dismissed as quickly as she could. "I'm not upset about it anymore." The shy smile on her face looked a little strange for her dismissive attitude, but it was hard to hold back with how intently Naruto looked and her. And was it really hot in that room all of a sudden?

Kiba eyed her once again and that slight knowing turned into full comprehension as he rolled his eyes at her. At least he was nice enough to be quiet about it.

Thankfully no one had a chance to delve further into her family history as Shino drew everyone's attention his way. Chouji had been moving around a little with a strange, hungry look in his eyes as he stared at Akamaru when Shino stepped forward to block him. Everyone watched in silence, waiting for Shino to say something – Hinata knew Shino liked to keep silent longer than necessary sometimes just for effect.

"Don't step on it," he warned the still boy still munching on chips. At Chouji's –and everyone else's– complete obliviousness to his meaning, Shino looked down to the little beetle scurrying across the floor between their feet. "_Don't_ step on it."

Hinata withheld her amusement to a mere smile. For as much as Shino hated meaningless talking, he hated being ignored and overlooked just as much. But his version of boasting in front of his opponents tended to end up on the creepy side, which –in all honesty– actually worked out very well for Shino. Considering not many, if any, of them knew how the Aburame fought, the strange protection of a beetle only left a creepy 'ick' sensation under their skin. If they only knew the truth . . . that 'ick' would get a whole lot worse.

"Are you gonna eat it?" Chouji asked, misunderstanding Shino's meaning completely. It was a good thing someone interrupted at that moment, or Chouji might have been finding more than chips in his bag.

"You all should be a little quieter. You guys are the 'rookie nine' fresh out of the academy, right? Carrying on with those sweet, young faces . . . this isn't a field trip, you know."

Everyone turned to see the new arrival. He wasn't from their year, or even Neji's. He looked older than them, but not too old. Maybe the twins age, or just a bit more than them. He had silverish hair and glasses that gave him a very 'bookworm' aura. No one seemed overly impressed by him.

"Who're you to be talking all haughtily?" Ino mocked from her spot behind Sasuke, an arm still draped around him.

The older teenager adjusted his glasses and offered a smile to the group. "I'm Yakushi Kabuto. Before you say anything else, though, maybe you should take a good look around."

Hinata and the others broke out of their little group and took in the rest of the room. She could only attribute their lack of awareness to getting sucked into old friends and rivalries, because how she hadn't been sensing the sheer animosity burning through the room directly for them seemed baffling. There was barely a ninja in the room not glaring daggers at the nine of them.

"Those three behind you are from the Rain Village, and they're pretty hot-tempered," Kabuto explained. "Everyone's tense right before the exam. I just thought I'd offer a friendly warning before something happens."

Those three he mentioned sure looked like they were ready for something to happen. Hinata felt old doubts coming back, with speed.

"Then again, you're all rookies to the exam, so you don't know any better," Kabuto mused with a sigh.

"Kabuto-san, right?" Sakura questioned and received a nod in reply. "So this is your second time taking the exam?"

Kabuto shook his head. "No, it's my seventh. The exam's only held twice a year, so I've been taking it for four years now."

_Seventh?_ And the old doubts were firmly lodged in her brain now. Hinata needed to evict those thoughts fast, because she didn't want to drag down Kiba and Shino's chances at making chuunin. It didn't matter if she wasn't ready, she needed to do her best for them.

"Then you must know all about the exam," Sakura commented.

Kabuto offered a confident smile. "I suppose so."

"Kabuto-san, you're pretty awesome," Naruto said admiringly.

"And yet you haven't passed yet," Shikamaru noted, earning a chuckle from Kiba and Chouji.

The confidence Kabuto showed a moment before passed into bashful laughter. "Well, that's true."

Shikamaru sighed, looking more depressed than Hinata felt. "Man, this is getting troublesome. Is the chuunin exam really that hard?"

"Well," Kabuto said, returning to his earlier pleasant demeanor, "since this is your first time, and you're all such cute little rookies, why don't I give you some information to help you out."

Kabuto pulled out a strange deck of cards that contained information only when his chakra was introduced. It was a smart way of collecting information you didn't want read, Hinata thought. He told all about the concept of the chuunin exam as a way to regulate the power between the villages, and even told Sasuke about someone name Gaara of the Sand. Hinata had no idea who he was, but he was almost terrifyingly powerful for a genin. She hoped they didn't have to face his team during the exam. By the time he'd finished explaining everything, Hinata felt more depressed than ever. This wasn't helping her keep a positive mentality.

"So basically you're saying everyone who's here for the exam . . ." Sakura trailed off as she looked around the room at the frightening men and women still staring at them.

Kabuto nodded. "Exactly, not just Gaara, but everyone here is the top genin from their village. The chuunin exam isn't going to be easy."

Hinata looked at her teammates for some kind of affirmation of her fears, but she should have known better. Kiba was _excited_. Did she really expect anything else? The bigger the challenge and danger, the faster he'd run toward it. Shino wasn't much better. He was calm and composed, but Hinata saw the familiar rustling beneath his jacket of kikaichuu eager to get out and fight. Why was she the only one who _didn't_ find it exciting? She was starting to think she shouldn't be chuunin even if she was taking the exam for herself.

A soft growl drew her attention to Akamaru, who immediately lowered his head to his master. Kiba flashed a cocky smirk her way and wink when no one was watching. Below, the soft tickle of insect feet crawling across her hand told her Shino was watching as well. They had more confidence in her than she had in herself, and at that moment it meant the world to her.

"Hey, Naruto, don't be scared."

Sakura's soft voice removed Hinata from her thoughts. Naruto's whole body was shaking. It was hard to believe he was scared though. Hinata knew Naruto wasn't scared of anything, but with his head down and back to her, she couldn't see the truth on his face.

Not that she needed to. Before Sakura could gently coax anything out of him, Naruto swung a hand out and pointed at the center of the room screaming as loud as he could until every eye was on him. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm not gonna lose to any of you! Got it!"

Yup, that was the Naruto she knew. And she wasn't laughing at Naruto. No. That purple color forming on her entire face from holding in the laughter was from the fact Tenten and Lee were actually holding Neji down in his chair at that moment. If the rest of the room didn't get to Naruto first, Neji was sure to find some excuse to face off against him during the chuunin exam. Why they were both so angry about things she'd gotten over a long time ago, she'd never understand.

"'I'm not going to lose to any of you,'" Kiba snickered, thoroughly enjoying the whole scene. "You said it."

"He just made enemies of the entire room in a few seconds," Shikamaru said, shaking his head.

"What're you talking all big for?" Sakura cried as she trapped Naruto into a headlock, not at all agreeing with the boys' pleasant assessment of the situation.

"But . . . I was . . . just saying the . . . truth," Naruto gasped as Sakura's grip choked the life right out of him.

"This was just a joke," Sakura waved to the room as Naruto's semi-conscious head hung limp over her arm. "He's just an idiot you see, saying crazy, idiotic things and just gets carried away. Don't pay any attention to him."

The room didn't settle at Sakura's reassurance. What had been tense before was now a stripped wire, live and sparking. It was almost strange that Hinata didn't feel as scared now –not after Kiba and Shino's support– than she did before. She was calmer, in fact. Naruto's outburst only eased her further, the familiarity of her overly boisterous friend was comforting rather than annoying. She felt . . . ready.

The whole room changed focus as one of the ninja from Sound –yes, the forehead protector was from the village Kabuto had called Sound– rushed Kabuto, missing the strike considerably. The speed wasn't hard for her to read, not after being in a team with Kiba. Kabuto seemed pleased to have dodged until his glasses shattered. Hinata glanced at Kiba and Shino, but they looked as baffled as she was. Nothing hit Kabuto that they could see.

All of a sudden Kabuto covered his mouth. He struggled to hold himself together, but was vomiting before he hit his knees. Naruto and Sakura ran to help him, but not even Kabuto seemed to understand what had happened. The Sound's attack did _not_ connect! How was he hurt?

"Silence!" cried a voice that came from the very walls of the room.

As if they all weren't confused enough already, smoke filled the front of the room. When the smoke cleared a line of gray-uniformed shinobi stood at the ready across the entire front wall. At the lead was an enormous man with more scars on his face than skin it seemed. Just looking at him made Hinata nervous.

A wry smile pulled at the man's scarred lips. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Morino Ibiki, proctor of the first test of the chuunin exam. It's time to begin."


	29. The First Test

I'm still trying to figure out how best to incorperate canon elements into the story, so feedback on the different styles is appreciated. Thank you. As always Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

The fates were just laughing at Neji now. Well, the fates might have been an exaggeration, but Tenten was sure smirking up at storm. Just because he'd rolled his eyes at the fact that in this 'random drawing' for seats his sister ended up right _next_ to that idiot did not mean she had to snort at him. If the crowd hadn't been so tense she probably would have been laughing her butt off. Honestly, you call a girl on checking you out once and she taunts you the rest of her life.

Neji settled into his seat and focused on the scarred face of their first proctor, Morino Ibiki. They had an exam to deal with; his brotherly neurosis would simply have to take a back seat. Lee was a couple rows in front of him, and Tenten further up. None of them were nearby anyone they knew. A ninja from Iwa was on Neji's left and one from Kumo on his right. From his angle, Neji couldn't tell who was near his teammates, not that he supposed it mattered entirely. Whatever this test was it seemed to be more important that the teams were separated than anything else.

As Ibiki explained the rules of the test, Neji studied his face. Whoever this proctor was, he knew how to handle his non-verbal cues at practically a Hyuuga's level. Not one twitch or glance gave away even the slightest hint about the true purpose of all these 'rules' he placed on the test. The only thing he could read was an air of control and foreboding. Neji wouldn't want to meet that man as an enemy, not yet at least.

The other examiners were far easier to read. They gave away that there _was_ a hidden purpose to this written test, but what that was he hadn't yet figured out. It seemed the rules themselves were the clue, the knowing expressions on the other examiners as Ibiki explained the rules confirmed that. So what was the real test being held underneath the guise of a written exam?

Neji read over the nine questions and blinked once. Tenten would be able to answer the trajectory one, but the rest . . . well at least the rules finally made sense now. It wasn't a written test of their knowledge, it was a practical test of their skills. It was a cheating test. Neji almost wanted to laugh. As if a Hyuuga couldn't cheat without getting caught; their clan was practically made to ace this test.

Neji closed his eyes and silently activated byakugan. He made a quick scan of the room to check that no one was paying attention to him. There were no Hyuuga examiners, but that didn't mean some of them didn't know what the Hyuuga were capable of or seen it in action. If they noticed the raised veins on his face, none of them cared enough to pay attention to him.

Rows down Neji saw Tenten's fingers twitching against the table. He smirked. Leave it to Tenten to turn the room to her advantage. It probably hadn't taken more than a gesture for her to swoop the wires around the mirrors that allowed the examiners to see other parts of the large room. She moved with slow, careful precision to re-adjust the mirrors for her and –once he put on his forehead protector to catch the reflection– Lee.

A raised brow from his teammate drew his attention, as she knew it would. She was ready to cheat, but off who? That was Neji's job. Who was the person in the room most confident of their answers? He scanned each face carefully. There were some who appeared confident at first glance, but byakugan read the unease as they hoped they were cheating off the correct person and weren't getting caught. He didn't want them; he wanted the person who wasn't cheating. Who knew enough to answer the questions without hesitation? One of the rookies, the pink-haired one Lee had chased after, she wasn't cheating, but Neji wasn't about to count on a rookie's answers. If this was a test on cheating, then someone in here had to know the correct answers for them to cheat off of.

He smiled when he finally found one. Letting his eyes physically lock on the intended victim, Neji nodded. Tenten tapped her test once in acknowledgement and went to work to adjust the mirrors for her and Lee. If this was all the challenge the first part of the exam held, the test would be simpler than he thought.

When Neji finished copying down what his target had so far, he let his sight wander the room again. The rookies were oddly confident. Not like some of the genin who feared getting caught. Most were like him and steadily working on copying down the answers that they'd already covertly obtained. All but the idiot. He wouldn't admit to being pleased, but it was hard to decide which would be better, getting the chance to face Naruto and beat him to a tiny half-living pulp, or watching him slink away in failure after the first part of the exam.

'_Neji-niisan!_' Hinata's eyes widened in annoyance. Though she was ahead of him in the seats, byakugan lined her rather perturbed face. They weren't at the twins' level of non-verbal communication, but when both had byakugan active they weren't too shabby with basic conversation.

'_What?'_ Neji shrugged with mock ignorance.

Hinata's nose wrinkled, _'Stop it.'_

Neji cracked his knuckles and glared, _'Can't help what I want.'_

'_Really, Neji-niisan,_' Hinata's eyes rolled.

'_Who're you cheating off of?'_ Neji twitched, eyeing the room.

Hinata's gaze flickered to a young man a few seats to her right. Neji watched him for a moment before nodding. It wasn't the one he'd picked, but he was a good choice, too. No hesitation. She'd already copied half the answers, and, like him, was now waiting for her target to complete the rest.

'_Good,_' he smiled, '_You're teammates okay?_'

'_They'll be fine,_' she nodded confidently.

'_Then I'll see you in the next round_,' Neji smirked.

As much as he didn't want to face her, Neji wanted to see Hinata succeed to the individual matches. It would be a great boost to her confidence, which no doubt would receive a another nasty hit from their grandfather when (after being so pleased to hear she was taking part in the exam) he found out she withdrew. That would be better than if she didn't make it as far as he did before withdrawing, though.

Neji's sight filtered beside her momentarily to the idiot looking ready to have a panic attack in his seat. '_Thankfully not him, too_,' he grinned.

'_Neji-niisan,_' Hinata slumped.

Neji shrugged, though a smirk tugged at his lips. Hinata straightened up and avidly ignored him by scribbling down the next answer her target had finished. He almost laughed, but given the present atmosphere, he settled for releasing the rest of the smirk.

His target finished the ninth question only thirty minutes into the exam, giving Neji fifteen minutes before the mysterious tenth question would be asked. Not that he was worried about it. He, Lee, and Tenten had just proved that they could handle covert information gathering, and even if there was a problem with the last question, the three of them would only be down one question each, plenty to get them to the next phase of the chuunin exam. He let his enhanced gaze take one last sweep of the room. Lee was just setting his pencil down, done copying the nine answers. Tenten twirled the thin wires she'd used to adjust the mirrors around one of her senbon and casually returned it to its place in her left bun. Some girls had bows in their hair, Tenten had a small armory.

He was about to deactivate byakugan until the last question was given when his gaze passed over Hinata. He didn't need byakugan to know what she was thinking, which scared him more than anything.

'_Hinata! Are you crazy?_'

Her eyes looked down momentarily, but she didn't respond.

'_Don't risk yourself for him,_' Neji glared.

Hinata shirked her chin up defiantly and deactivated byakugan to cut off any further conversation. If only she'd be so obstinate to their grandfather.

Neji looked down at his test again, re-reading the answers he didn't understand for something to distract himself. The test was what was important. This was his chance to become a chuunin. He'd remember that if the ninja in him had to bludgeon the brother into submission.

Kaiten training with Tenten gave Neji an acute sense of when sharp, pointy objects were thrown his way. So when the glint of silver flashed in his peripheral, Neji was at attention immediately. Not a person stirred, not even the poor soul now shaking in his seat with a kunai sticking out of his paper. It'd taken thirty minutes, but the first genin was eliminated.

While everyone else watched the helpless boy get dragged out –quite literally– kicking and screaming, Neji's eyes returned to Morino Ibiki. Their proctor stood unperturbed at the head of the room. He scanned the room carefully, not caring about the ones who'd been eliminated, but the rest of them. He was analyzing their reactions.

It wasn't just a test of skills, Neji realized, it was a test of nerves as well. Everything Ibiki did was to unsettle and push the genin even further off edge. He wanted them so unsettled and terrified that by the time the last question was asked they'd be desperate to end the exam. No doubt there was something else planned for the last question. Neji was impressed. Ibiki was calm, calculating, and patient. After the exam, Neji might need to find out what exactly Morino Ibiki did in the village, because he was the kind of man Neji wouldn't mind working under one day.

One after another the genin began dropping like flies. Neji was glad his team was already done, it saved him any worry (unnecessary as it would be) of them getting caught. He watched the clock –_slowly_– tick away the last five minutes before the final question. No doubt the wait was all part of Ibiki's plan to attack their nerves. Not that it affected Neji. He was merely anxious to move on, not worried . . . no, not at all.

Ibiki's deep voice boomed like an exploding tag in the silent room as he explained the rules for the final question. (Rules? More rules?) All part of his plan, Neji reminded himself. It was getting a little difficult to remain completely unnerved when he could see the pleasure Ibiki was getting at shoving them all further and further into a psychological corner, and how hard he worked to make sure they stayed there.

Take away their chance to be chuunin ever? Neji almost wanted to applaud Ibiki. Was there anything more terrifying to a room of people _trying_ to become chuunin? Anyone on the verge of losing it from the first part of the test was a goner now.

Tenten looked back, her eyes moving from Lee to Neji; Lee followed her example. Between them was not an expression of doubt or fear, but of solidarity. They were prepared to move forward no matter the consequences, all three together. A smile softened and last tenseness from his face as he return their glance with a resolute nod. As long as his team still had his back, Neji didn't care what the last question was.

Eternal genin or not.


	30. Into the Forest

Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Hinata rifled through the jacket of the unconscious genin from Kiri and retrieved the second scroll. It hadn't taken them long to set up Shino's trap, which worked so marvelously Kiba was taking credit for it. Less than a couple hours in and they'd already accomplished half their mission. Now all that was left was to make it to the tower and wait out the five days.

"We should hurry and deliver the scrolls," Shino said in his unique way of commenting rather than of commanding.

Not that Kiba saw it that way. Hinata noticed his mouth tick slightly in irritation. She never would understand what was so important to Kiba about who the leader was.

"We've got plenty of time," Kiba barked back and a feral grin revealed his fangs. "I say we thin out the competition a bit. The less teams that make it to the finish, the less we have to face later."

"But, if we can handle them now, then we can handle them later, too," Hinata interjected. She was on Shino's side. They needed to finish the mission.

Kiba shook his head and snatched the scroll from Hinata's hand. "That weird chick said she was gonna cut us down by half using these scrolls, so that means we've gotta be getting close to the individual matches. I say we take them out now while we're still together."

"I'm not afraid to face them one on one?" Shino remarked idly, making Hinata groan. Kiba must've been annoying him for Shino to get passive-aggressive already.

"Who said I was afraid?" Kiba spat.

Kurenai had been correct back when they first started together, Hinata found herself playing intervention between them all too often still. It was time to try a different tactic.

"Shino-kun's right, we should head to the tower," Hinata said firmly. She'd noticed lately that if she stood up to Kiba, he'd back down on whatever they were arguing about. She had a feeling it was more to encourage her to stand up for herself, but she'd take false acquiescence if she could get it.

Apparently she wasn't going to. Kiba shirked away and jumped into the trees. "Come on, we can get another couple teams and still make it to the tower in time."

Shino sighed beside her before following Kiba deeper into the forest. It didn't matter to Hinata if she didn't make chuunin, but she wanted to make sure Shino and Kiba got as far as they could. She had faith in them as a team, but who knew what kinds of abilities the foreign teams were capable of.

She caught up with the two of them for one last ditch effort to convince her stubborn partner to do what was best. "Kiba-kun, if we head straight to the tower we can probably beat all the other teams there."

Kiba stalled on a branch ahead of them. Hinata watched the minor battle on his face going on between his desire to fight and his ego wanting to gloat over every other team.

"It would be nice to show everyone up," he mused.

"Yeah," Hinata said encouragingly, "that would definitely prove how much better we are than the rest of the genin." And by 'we' she knew Kiba would hear 'him,' which was fine if it worked. Beside her Shino stayed silent. They both knew Shino would only aggravate Kiba into doing the opposite of whatever he wanted.

Kiba's grin grew wider. "Yeah, okay, listen up! We're gonna be the first ones to get to that tower! If we don't make it there by nightfall you'll both be sorry."

"Right," Hinata answered with a nod. She'd let him think it was his idea if that's what it took.

"Let's go then!" Kiba barked, heading off without another look back.

Shino stayed in pace next to Hinata, a bit of amusement in his otherwise impassive face. "You've become very good at manipulating Kiba. Almost as good as Sensei."

Hinata's face burned red, and she swore she heard Shino chuckle when she looked away. She hadn't quite meant to _manipulate_ Kiba, just get him to see things . . . their way . . . oh great, she was manipulating him. Hinata didn't like that idea. It reminded her too much of her grandfather's insulting doubletalk.

They ran for nearly three hours with only minor interference from the terrain and other obstacles. Most of the delays were merely constant course corrections. Between byakugan, Kiba's nose, and Shino's bugs, they were able to avoid most of the major problems, creatures, or other teams, but it meant a lot of changing direction and detours. At least once Kiba'd gotten it in his head he wanted to be first, he no longer cared to bother with teams they could have engaged.

They were over halfway to the tower when Shino stopped them. His bugs sensed a chakra spike nearby, and Hinata scanned the area to make sure it was safe to proceed. There was nothing ahead of them, but when she swept behind, her enhanced vision stopped dead on the figure standing over a group of unconscious genin, the very group they'd switched course to avoid a few minutes before.

"We need to run," she said, shoving the panic down in favor of sheer necessity. "Fast."

"What is it?" Shino asked, his steady voice calming her slightly (very slightly).

Hinata forced her vision to return to the boys before her, looking at each one before answering in a soft, nervous voice, "My aunt."

"Your aunt?" Kiba repeated. "You mean we have to deal with fighting off more than animals and other teams? That crazy chick never said that."

"I don't know why, but she's here and not far, we need to get moving before she sees us."

"You don't think she'd make an exception in the rules for you?" Shino asked, weighing his options.

Hinata shook her head. "That's the thing, Neji-niisan's the only person in the clan who knows I plan to withdraw in the individual fights. So, if anything she'd do everything she could to make sure we _don't_ make it to the tower so I for certain won't make chuunin."

"Damn, ninja moms are crazy, too," Kiba muttered and looked to Shino. "How'd your weird family end up with the only _normal_ mother?"

Shino adjusted his glasses and for the first time since they entered the Forest of Death looked uncomfortable. "You've never seen her when I bring wild bugs home." When they both stared at him confused, he amended, "My mother's terrified of most bugs."

Hinata slammed a hand over Kiba's mouth before the laughter threatening to expose them burst out. "You can make fun of that later, for now we need to get out of–"

She shoved Kiba and Shino off the branch supporting them and leapt off as a wave of chakra –visible only to byakugan– struck the tree and shattered the branch they were sitting on. Hinata frantically searched the tree line, but it was empty. The attack was one of the few distance attacks advanced jyuuken users were capable of; Naomi was still a short ways behind them.

"Hurry," Hinata called and all three were in a flat out retreat towards the tower.

If Kiba ran at full speed, then he'd have been able to outrun her, but the whole team had to arrive or it didn't count. For now, Shino and Hinata were merely maintaining a pace with Naomi, close but not gaining.

"Do we have a plan?" Kiba screamed.

"Does praying count as a plan?" Hinata asked with a terrified chuckle. She knew Naomi was faster than her, so her loving aunt was currently toying with them.

"No," Shino replied as if she'd been serious, "praying is a bad plan."

That earned a good laugh from both Kiba and Hinata. Shino's dry humor had brought the fun of the fight back into Kiba's face and relaxed all three back into their normal rhythm.

"You got a better suggestion?" Kiba snapped.

"Survive."

Kiba burst out laughing. "Yeah, let's work on that."

"Down!" Hinata screamed, barely giving the boys enough warning to jump out of the way as another branch splintered off under Naomi's chakra attack. They landed on the ground in a large triangle and their way ahead was blocked by massive boulders except to return to the tree line above, which still showered them with fragments of falling bark.

"Seriously, Hinata, you need to learn that!" Kiba yelled, both awed and annoyed at Naomi's skill in cornering them.

"Remind me once you're chuunin," Hinata snipped back playfully. It would still be a while before her inner coils system was strong enough to support the advanced techniques Naomi knew, but Kiba worked well with motivation.

"If that's what it takes we need to get out of here," Kiba snorted.

"Is there any path?" Shino asked. His bugs were out and searching themselves, but Hinata's sight was oftentimes faster.

She scanned the area as efficiently as possible without skipping around what might be a way out, but Naomi was too close for them to double-back around the boulders, their only chance was up and back into the line of fire. As if to emphasize that wasn't an option, another branch exploded over their heads from a wave of chakra only Hinata saw coming. Naomi wasn't going to let them go now.

"Up's the only way out, and she's watching for it. "

Kiba growled like a predator who'd found his prey. "Then we face off."

* * *

Naomi had been pleased when she'd been assigned to work the chuunin exam. Not only did it mean she could stay in Konoha for a good length of time (not that she didn't enjoy traveling again, but she missed Hizashi and the children), but it also meant she'd get to know first hand where Neji and Hinata stood instead of waiting till the children came home. Plus she got to brag about her boy to the other officials whenever talk of who they wanted to see in the individual matches came up. Neji was a favorite.

What was surprising was how quickly the first of them were being called away during the second part of the exam. The chuunin weren't there to aid or save the wandering genin, not until the five days was up, but they were on hand for those who failed to listen to the rules and opened their scrolls. Naomi thought they should have waited at least one whole day before someone was that stupid. But come late afternoon Naomi felt the summoning technique written inside the scroll attached to her activate. She was lucky number one it seemed.

As if being summoned so early wasn't unexpected enough, seeing Hinata's team close by as she cleaned up the mess of unconscious genin was a pleasant addition. She debated for a moment (a very short moment) whether or not to let them go; it wasn't technically her job to make it harder for other teams to pass through the forest, but since she was there . . . Naomi doubted Anko would find her at fault.

Hinata only joined the chuunin exam because she had to for her team. Naomi knew as well as any of them that she _didn't_ want to be chuunin anytime soon. And while a part of Naomi wanted her to succeed just so they could shove it in Hyobe's face, Naomi knew that Hinata would never be happy returning to the clan right now. Her team made her far, far happier than the clan, and whether Hyobe recognized it or not, the team was giving her confidence she'd never had at home. A fact that was confirmed when Neji very subtly let slip to them she intended to ignore her grandfather's wishes if he tried to stop her from excusing herself from the individual matches. (It had eased their fears that she was just acquiescing to her team's demands.)

Still, now that she was here and some spirit out there gave her such a perfect opportunity, Naomi decided to make sure that team of hers was worth the shit-storm that would blow through the clan when Hinata pulled out of the exam. If they weren't, Naomi would save everyone the trouble and put a stop to their aspirations right there in the forest. Hyobe couldn't get mad if the entire team failed to make it to the individual round.

They were a bit craftier than she'd given them credit for. The Aburame's bugs were lighting up her vision with chakra like a field of fireflies in front of her. It wasn't a complete impediment, but did make her blink a few times to clear up her focus. Everyone always assumed Hinata's team was built for tracking, but those same skills made them especially adapt at survival and retreat. When she finally cornered them on the ground, Naomi waited on a branch above them and took a long moment simply to observe the three children, a deceptive smile on her face.

Hinata stood at the front, Shino and Kiba flanked her on either side, but as she watched and read the underlying truth a story unfolded from byakugan's insight. Though Hinata stood at the foreground, Kiba held himself as the leader, his feral eyes very decidedly passing over the other two before returning to stare down his enemy. Shino wasn't subordinate to Kiba, though. He met Kiba's gaze with acknowledgment, not acceptance. He also was more protective of the team than he let on. Outwardly the boy appeared calm, but when she interpreted the fact that most Aburame were distance fighters and included the positioning of his bugs moving in small, independent swarms, Shino was more poised to take on the role of defender than aggressor.

That left Hinata. If Kiba was leader, and Shino was defender, what was Hinata? Naomi narrowed her sight, searching her niece's face for every truth she could find. She was more submissive when Kiba's eyes passed over her. She showed the reserved acceptance that had been absent in Shino. But they'd placed her at the front. A decoy? Or were they trying to use her as an appeal to Naomi's maternal instincts? That latter seemed unlikely given Kiba's relationship with Tsume. It was only one meeting, but it was obvious that 'going easy' on family wasn't in the Inuzuka mindset. No, there was deception in her eyes; Hinata was the decoy.

"Enjoying the exam so far?" she called down pleasantly. Naomi kept her eyes on Hinata, but byakugan's focus stayed on Kiba. If he was the leader, then he'd probably be the first aggressor while Shino defended the decoy attack.

"It's been interesting," Hinata replied, a nervous grin on her face. "What are you doing here, Aunt Naomi?"

Naomi made sure the warmth of her voice reached her eyes as she answered, "Weeding out the weak."

Her niece shifted ever so slowly, putting her in position to brace for a jump. Kiba was oddly quiet, letting their decoy do her job. At their feet, Akamaru inched his way forward, nearly halfway between Kiba and Hinata and still moving. No one spoke for another long minute; they just watched each other as the children waited for an opening that wouldn't come.

When Akamaru was a full foot in front of his team, Hinata leapt into the trees with Kiba right behind her. Naomi ignored her niece's feint and turned to defend against the real threat in Kiba coming up on her side. She'd never personally fought alongside an Inuzuka, but she was aware of their basic skills. They were generally mid-range fighters and their speed was admirable. If she didn't keep up with his movements she might lose him long enough for him to land a hit. And even from a genin, a well-placed hit can do some damage. The only warning she had for what happened next was the arrogant little smirk that curled Kiba's mouth as a shot of pure nerve pain reverberated through her side.

Hinata hadn't feinted. Her palm strike landed solidly into the inner coils on Naomi's left side. Normally a single hit in a non-vital area wasn't necessarily a painful experience, but the backlash caught part of her diaphragm and for a long few seconds Naomi couldn't breathe through the pain. Still holding her breath against the feeling of needles being shoved into her organs, Naomi immediately adjusted to block a second strike aimed for her leg.

If Naomi could have smiled, she would have. Hinata wasn't the decoy, she was the aggressor. Hinata knew exactly how to make her read them wrong, and the deception Naomi had seen in her niece wasn't because she was a decoy, but because Hinata was a horrible liar – and she'd used it to her advantage.

Once the initial pain receded enough she could breathe again, Naomi switched from defense to offence seamlessly. Hinata had been clever, but she wasn't stronger than Naomi. The palm strike headed for Hinata's side (in return for the one that had landed on Naomi) would have done damage if Kiba hadn't jumped in between and forced her back to avoid a kick to the chest. So he was the defender.

Naomi didn't have time to wonder what Shino's role in this little trio was before a tidal wave of bugs rose up from the ground and descended on her. Naomi wasn't squeamish about bugs here or there, but that many crawling and bubbling together made even her stomach turn once. If they didn't consume chakra she'd have let them fall and used a sharp burst to free herself of them. As it was, a strategic retreat further back was more advisable.

"So he was the escape plan," she chuckled to herself as the swarm dispersed to follow their master, who was already out of normal sight along with his team.

Naomi directed her vision to Hinata and smiled. With byakugan active, Hinata would see the motherly pride unhidden in Naomi's eyes. Her side was sorer than before –jyuuken wounds got worse with time– when she turned to finish the cleanup of the genin who had summoned her in the first place; Hinata's strike had been direct and unguarded. Sure Naomi could have given chase again, but they'd proved themselves enough. If nothing else, the sheer fact that Hinata moved as the aggressor would've convinced her of that. Her niece was changing for the better thanks to those two boys, they deserved the chance to make chuunin.

Besides, as fast as they were going they'd just might make it to the tower first, and then Naomi would get to brag about _both_ her children.


	31. Siblings

Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

Neji kept the scowl from his face as Hinata — very purposely from the defiant little quirk of her brow — chatted with the Uzumaki boy, congratulating him no doubt. She could show a little more camaraderie, Neji thought (not bitterly at all); Kiba was barely carted out the door to the infirmary before she was offering the Uzumaki her mother's salves. Sure she offered it to Kiba first, but still, the Uzumaki beat her teammate. He didn't deserve it.

Hinata caught him watching her and narrowed her eyes in a very '_this is your fault_' way. Neji turned back to his remaining teammate. One thing Lee did very well was be distracting. His round eyes locked on the black announcement board like it held the meaning of life. Neji wouldn't mind getting paired against Lee, just to see what Gai had been teaching him in their private sessions. But then there was still that boy from Sand, the one whose own team was scared of, whose chakra grew and faded in strange waves depending on if a fight was active or not.

And did she really have to laugh so much with him? Not that Neji was paying attention. One day he was really going to have to let go of this over-protective feeling for his sister. Not today, but soon. And Hinata was right after all, _he_ was the one who convinced her to not give up before the preliminary fights. It might have taken threatening to reveal to said Uzumaki the real reason Neji suffered from violent fantasies about his demise, but Neji hadn't gotten the chance to see Hinata in a true fight since she'd become a genin. He was curious. Besides, if she happened to lose in the preliminary round (not that he wanted her to) then her grandfather couldn't be mad at her for giving up without trying.

The matches had been interesting so far, if nothing else. He was curious what happened to the Uchiha; his chakra wasn't normal by the end of that fight. And it was too bad Tenten ended up facing the girl from Sand. Neji knew her skill first hand; anyone else that had fought so far she'd have been able to battle with ease, but someone who could throw her weapons back at her . . . It was the worst possible match. Though that only made him more curious about the few foreign genin left. What talents did they have?

Hayate coughed, quiet and quick but it silenced everyone left on the observation balconies. Next to Neji, Lee gripped the metal railing, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. (Neji was beginning to think Gai had some sort of powder or cream that made their faces shine like that.)

"We'll now announce the next match," Hayate wheezed.

All eyes locked on the black board flipping bright yellow lights in deceiving patterns. One character overlapping another in strange morphed names that held no meaning except hope or terror. Who would be next?

The silence's tense grip on the room held fast as the yellow lights stopped, displaying in unnatural strokes mirrored names: _Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji_.

"Siblings have to fight?" Sakura was the first to break the quiet. She stood near Hinata with a few of the other rookies, all looking as dumbfounded by the names as Sakura sounded.

"How horrible!" Lee cried, tears welling up in his eyes. "To have to fight your own beloved sister!"

"Are you kidding me," Hinata said with a sigh deep enough to drag all them all into the great unknown abyss. "Neji-niisan's loving this. Aren't you?"

The laugh he'd withheld so well up to that moment burst out in a deep, echoing bellow. It was too perfect. He couldn't have asked for a better outcome. To be able to test her himself instead of merely watching from the sidelines hoping the challenger was skilled enough to really put her talents to the test, someone was smiling down on him today.

Neji's lip curled up into a sinister little grin as his pale eyes ignored the flood of confused faces all gaping at him and settled on his resigned little sister. "I expect a good fight."

"At least Grandpa can't complain I didn't make it to the finals," Hinata said with a sad little chuckle. But beneath the childhood conditioning that made her loathe being tested against him and the worrisome knowledge that she'd have to tell their grandfather she lost to Neji once again, her lips twitched up into a smile for the briefest second.

It really had been too long since they fought properly.

"Kick his ass, Hinata!" Naruto cheered in an obnoxious voice that burned brimstone in Neji's ears before shoving Hinata forward with an encouraging slap to the shoulder. Neji was about to tell her not to count herself out until the fight was over anyway, but he didn't need that idiot screaming through the whole match. Supporting her or not.

Neji started down from the balcony, knocking into Naruto's shoulder just to see the anger flare in his eyes as they took their place in the arena below. It was a little strange to stand against his little sister the way all the others had stood against their enemies, fighting with all their might to be a chuunin. He hadn't wanted to face off against her in the exam, but now that the opportunity presented itself the way it had, in a preliminary only they would see, Neji was glad. There'd be no problems in the clan if Hinata lost a proper match. It was only her first chuunin exam; not many passed the first time around. He just wished he didn't see surrender in her eyes.

"I want a real fight, Hinata," Neji said, a smile reserved for her warming his otherwise serious face. "Don't give up yet."

"We both know who's going to win this, Neji-niisan."

Neji's smile turned down and he ran his tongue over his teeth as he eyed his sister. "Which would you rather tell Grandpa, that I beat you in a fair fight or that you gave up before you tried?"

"I'd rather not tell him either," Hinata murmured, not fully meeting his gaze.

"Well then," Neji laughed, falling into his jyuuken stance, "win."

Hayate coughed shallow into his hand and nodded to each in turn. "Begin."

Chakra flooded the pathways into his eyes, shifting and enhancing the vision of his sister into chakra and understanding. She was still hesitating. Still looking for a way out of the fight. It seemed her teammates had yet to harden up that tender temperament of hers. Neji continued scrutinizing every twitch and avoidant shift in her fair features, and the grin returned to his face. Her team had done her good after all.

"I'd rather you fight me seriously, even if you think you might actually hurt my chances at being chuunin," Neji said, rather proud Hinata worried she was capable of it. "Telling Grandpa you beat me would be worth staying genin."

Hinata rolled her eyes and slipped into her jyuuken stance. "That wasn't what I was thinking," she lied.

"You should be."

A flash of blue, unseen by the spectators above, encased Neji's outstretched palm as he slipped lightning-fast to strike low on her abdomen. She parried, shoving his hand down and twisting to try and counter on his outstretched shoulder, but he was too fast. The strike, the parry, the turn and counter-turn, move by move matched in their all-too-familiar dance. He had power and force, she flexibility and speed. Better speed than he remembered, in fact. No doubt thanks to Kiba's help. But then Neji was stronger than the last time they'd sparred, too. It promised a good match, an interesting match, if only she wasn't doing just that. Sparring. She wasn't fighting, she was sparring. Even after all he told her, she was still sparring with him. Well, she only had herself to blame for what he did next.

Fixing his chakra against the ground to brace himself, Neji dropped the chakra from his hands and slammed both palms into her abdomen, sending her sprawled on the ground. She recovered quick enough, but the lack of chakra must have been enough to signal the change in him. She met him, byakugan to byakugan.

_'Fight me!_' he glared.

She glanced down, '_I am_.'

His brow rose, '_Fight me or—_'

'_Or what? You'll tell Grandpa?_'

A smirk danced across Neij's lips as his pale eyes, iris ringed in chakra veins, rose to meet a pair of blue avidly watching the fight from above.

"Neji-niisan," Hinata said, her voice both shaking and threatening.

Neji ignored his little sister's warning. She might know how to get under his skin when she was annoyed with him, but he knew just as well how to motivate her. "Hey, Uzumaki, you want to know why I can't stand you?"

He expected the sudden sprint forward, the flash of blue around her fingertips, but when the chakra turned to a feint and her arm twisted into his own, the shock was enough to let her follow through. Her lithe body twirled around him with ballet grace until their backs pressed against one another and his free arm was just as entwined as the other. Like the mother boar from his first mission out of the village, Hinata bucked Neji straight over her back and chucked him across the arena floor. He barely had time to tuck and roll to stop himself before he slammed into the back wall.

"Now that's the fight I wanted," Neji laughed.

Hinata glowered at him, face so red Neji had to wonder how there was any blood left for the rest of her body. Her mouth contorted in hollow attempts to speak, but all that came out was a wheezed whine, or perhaps a whispered shriek. Forfeiting further efforts to verbal speech, Hinata pointed at Neji, the negation of his very existence so raw in her eyes not even byakugan could translate it into words.

"Guess you'd better keep me busy," Neji said, smirk teasing her more each second, "who knows what I'll say if I'm bored."

A cross between a whimper and a battle cry escaped Hinata's locked jaw as she forced her fisted hands to flatten and relax in her jyuuken stance. Now the fight would really begin.

The comfortable dance they'd begun disappeared in a frenzied but orchestrated mess of subtle blue light, barely touching limbs, and slowly rotting chakra veins. She struck harder than before, harder than he'd seen her in any spar. Though fierce, her attacks were more controlled, more focused. No doubt the improved accuracy stemmed from her need to hit a fast moving or quickly dispersing target. Her tactics were still Hyuuga at least. Whittle them down and wait them out. Always a good plan when a single end-strike wasn't possible. Would have been a good idea against Neji even, to see whose chakra lasted longer, if only he hadn't picked up a few new tricks since the last time they fought.

Slowly, so as not to draw any unnecessary attention to her ever-watchful gaze, Neji shifted his attacks from chakra-only to slightly physical. A brush here or there against her skin. A hard hit to her abdomen to shove her off balance. He let her get used to the feel of his hands in the fight and waited for the recognition he wanted to see appear in her eyes. He was faster than her; fast enough to hit skin on skin and not just chakra. It was all the cover he needed.

He focused deeper, following the all-too-familiar pattern of his sister's chakra pathways to the tenketsu he'd been studying most of the fight in preparation. He'd practiced a few times on Lee and Gai in fights, once or twice on Tenten (with her permission), but they didn't understand what it meant for him to already understand it without someone teaching him, what it will mean when the clan found out. Hinata would — if she noticed.

The first hit was to her left shoulder, closing one of the three major pathways leading to her arm. Two quick strikes to her right forearm to impede reflex and dexterity in the fingers. A series up her left arm — wrist, elbow, triceps — to reduce flexibility (which she had an amazing abundance of).

He aimed for her right bicep — to weaken the muscles — but Hinata parried with panic's speed. She tucked down and swept high to force him back, giving her the chance to retreat to the far wall. Neji could've followed, but the way she moved wasn't needing a break because she was tired. He relaxed back and waited, watching her flex and extend her fingers as if each bend was a message she couldn't quite hear.

"Something wrong, Hinata?" Neji asked, a detached lilt in his voice.

"What have you done?" Hinata never looked up from her hands. The thoughts beneath those pale eyes were coming together, building the complete picture.

Neji grinned. "Whatever do you mean, little sister?"

And then it clicked. Hinata pulled back her sleeve to reveal the small bruises forming from his attack on her tenketsu. Neji scrutinized her every blink, every sidelong glance, searching for the silent markers of her reaction. But it wasn't the silence that spoke first. It was laughter. The sad kind of laughter that kept something worse from coming out.

"Can't you not be good at everything?" Hinata said, letting her sleeve drop in defeat. "I can hear Grandpa now."

"And I can't wait for you to show him you can do it, too." Neji stared at her until she lifted her head and met his gaze. He wasn't going to let her give up on herself so quickly. "Do you really think I'm not going to teach you how to do it before Grandpa finds out?"

The dejection faded from her face and a sneaky little smirk struggled to form. "You can actually keep from showing off that long, _Neji-niisan_?"

Neji fell back into his jyuuken stance. "Oh, you're going to pay for that."

The start of their fight was routine, the middle was heavy and forced, but now that she was finally fighting for herself and not because he was threatening her, the end would be the fight he wanted all along. It was Hinata without fear of failure. And seeing her like that was worth the entire chuunin exam.

Not that he was going to let her win. The tenketsu attacks were showing. The chakra that still made it to her hands was too weak to do any real damage, and though she was getting very creative with some of her kicks, it was only a matter of time. But for the first time in a very long while, Neji saw the kind of passion in her eyes that he hadn't seen since before they'd become genin, maybe even before their grandfather had beaten her confidence down so far.

Without chakra behind her, Hinata fused jyuuken with normal taijutsu, landing a solid kick and turning his shin into a mass of violent, live nerves every time he shifted his stance. A slight weakness she took full advantage of each chance she got. And she was stronger than she let on; he'd have some interesting bruises for the next few days. He returned the favor, hitting her hard, both physically and with chakra.

Strike to her abdomen. Missed sweep to his legs. Counter to her head, dodged. Return to his forearm, skirting the muscle.

Neither blinked. Neither wavered. Faster they moved despite the pain, adrenaline and excitement fueling their finale. It wasn't a question of who would end, but how much damage would she do before she could go no further. Obviously, she was determined to take as much of him down with her as possible.

Neji recognized the feint to his arm and slipped in to strike her chest, anticipating her counter and knowing he'd still clip her left shoulder with enough chakra to render it almost useless. Her pale eyes easily read his move and her stance fortified to withstand the block.

It all happened so fast. Too fast to stop when the fear filled her eyes. Too late to stop the chakra expelled from his hand positioned perfectly over her heart, as if resting there to feel the steady beat beneath her skin. A beat that didn't come.

Neji leapt forward, cradling his little sister's falling body against him. Her eyes stared wide and her chest jerked as she struggled to breathe past the blood filling her mouth.

"Medic!" Neji screamed over and over, begging for someone's help, anyone's help. He stroked Hinata's cheek, smearing the blood into her pale skin so that she looked as pink as when she was embarrassed around Naruto.

He didn't know who pulled him away when the medics arrived. He just watched them hurry her out of the room. "She was supposed to dodge," he whispered in a shaking voice he didn't recognize. "She was supposed to dodge."


	32. Waiting Rooms

Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

* * *

"How many more of them are missing?" Koi asked, staring at her filth-covered front.

"That's not the right question," Naomi answered with a smile. "The question is will we ever get that stench out of our clothes."

The team they'd just rescued had been half buried in some of the foulest smelling mud (she liked to believe it was only mud) that Naomi had the unhappy privilege to dig into. They'd counted themselves lucky, though. They weren't bringing back any bodies. At least two groups already had fatalities. As much as everyone enjoyed the chuunin exam, it was also a sober reminder of what the next generation would be heading into if they passed.

Naomi wasn't worried about Hinata as much. Even if she was capable of becoming chuunin, she wasn't about to be made one. But Neji . . . Neji was another story. He definitely had the skill to become chuunin, and nothing was stopping him from taking more dangerous missions if he did. At least he'd still be with his team for a few more years. Naomi would need to talk to Sandaime once Neji's team disbanded. She'd need to make sure they were never placed on the same assignment; it would take more than money to put her son's life beneath some meaningless mission.

Koi slumped against the wall and sniffed at her vest as they waited for the clerk to return with the necessary paperwork before they returned to the forest for the next group waiting to be rescued. Naomi enjoyed a quick stretch, loosening up those muscles stiff from the last five days of waiting with minimal exercise. After her first trek into the forest, Naomi was called only once more, three days in. She might've smelled like a sewer, but at least it felt good to be moving again.

"Naomi!" the clerk screamed, his eyes wide with a kind of panic that didn't come from misfiled paperwork.

"What's wrong?"

The clerk lowered his eyes, momentarily distancing himself from her and the need to deliver the news trapped in his tightening throat. "There's been an incident at the preliminary matches."

Naomi exhaled, the meaning of his words not fully connecting in her mind. Her fingers curled up until she felt the tips of her nails dig into her palm. "Is Neji all right?"

"Neji is," he answered, his voice trembling and eyes fully grounded. "Hinata was hurt."

"Hinata?"

He nodded. "The medics . . . they . . . you need to get there now."

"Of course." She hesitated before moving, turning to Koi. "Can you make sure someone is sent to the compound. Yumi needs to be brought, she's the best healer in the clan, and Hizashi."

Koi nodded in silent affirmation before rushing off to inform someone or get a messenger or maybe go herself. Naomi headed in the opposite direction, through the narrow halls in a career calm that pushed her body forward even as her mind disappeared into a chasm of confusion.

Hinata wasn't supposed to be in the individual fights. She was going to pull out, so what was she doing in a preliminary match? Did she think she needed to lose a match to satisfy Hyobe? Naomi and Hizashi would have supported her decision to leave the exam; she didn't need to do that. Hinata was supposed to be the safe one.

The infirmary was clogged with genin. The preliminary matches were only a tiny fraction of the wounded still coming in. All the genin they were rescuing from the forest were brought here, sitting in the once neat seats, now dragged around the room into orderly chaos. Kumo in one corner, Kiri in another, Iwa huddled against the far wall, Konoha licking their wounds only long enough to be released back home, their journey to chuunin over. She didn't recognize anyone, Hinata wasn't there. Naomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself.

The next floor up was designated for serious injuries, rooms fully prepared for everything from missing limbs to the near-dead. Naomi took the stairs three at a time; her jaw clenched tight enough her teeth crackled. It was necessary. If Hinata was hurt, then Neji would be nearby and the tenser she made her face now, the easier it would be to relax it for him.

There was a maddening quiet to the floor. A silent stillness so absolute that each order from the medics burst like an explosion in the air, sending the words like shrapnel into the frozen listeners. Naomi forced away the calls she heard beyond the doors—the frantic strain in their voices. She couldn't listen to them, not until she knew who those calls were for. She took a deep breath and allowed her body to relax. It was time to open the door.

Unlike the floor beneath that was amass with tired, beaten genin, this floor was sparse, sterile. Curtains crafted makeshift rooms of breathing white fabric. One metal folding chair waited outside each cordoned off area, no doubt to be filled by the jounin assigned to the team, since that would be the only guardian the visiting genin would have. Only one was occupied, and not by a jounin. Neji sat, head lowered and buried in his hands so she couldn't discern anything from his face. Standing in front of him, half as sentry, was Kurenai. There was genuine worry on her face, both for whatever lay beyond the curtain and—more surprisingly—for Neji. Sympathy Naomi would have understood, but worry? Further down Gai paced, not too far to be out of calling distance, but not close enough to be there solely for Neji. His eyes passed over a different room with different voices.

Naomi was about to call out to them when Kurenai caught sight of her. A single glance stopped Naomi, an intense glare that would have halted anyone, and she waited for the other woman to leave her post and join Naomi away from Neji.

"I just got word. What's happened?" Naomi whispered once Kurenai was close enough.

"Hinata was going to pull out at the individual fights, and I'm not sure why, but she chose to fight in preliminaries. She was paired against Neji."

"Neji?" All her Hyuuga training couldn't keep the shock from Naomi's face. "_Neji_ hurt Hinata?"

"It was an accident," Kurenai explained, though her eyes dropped a little to avoid Naomi's gaze. "A very bad accident. A palm strike to the heart. They've been working on her for over an hour already."

Naomi shook her head, hoping in vain that something might click if she just kept moving. "How is a heart strike an accident? We wouldn't even use chakra to practice such a move."

"Apparently he expected her to move out of the way. That's all he's said since it happened."

Naomi took a breath to collect herself before nodding to Kurenai. "Thank you for watching over him."

Kurenai offered a comforting hand on her arm before moving out of the way. Naomi was still reeling from the news, but she put the physical reactions back to calm as she approached her son. There was no way Neji would hurt Hinata on purpose; the guilt itself must have been eating away at him, but that wasn't what terrified Naomi down to her core. Years might have tempered the gap, but Neji was branch family. For a member of the branch family to harm any of the main, let along the sole heir . . . Naomi couldn't imagine what was going to happened to him. The last brancher to nearly kill a mainer was executed generations ago, and there was no precedent for the mixed up family structure they were living with.

"Neji," she called in a soft voice, not wanting to startle him.

He lifted his head. Horror, fear, grief, shame . . . so many emotions trapped in those pale eyes. Emotions no child, not even a shinobi child, should have to feel yet. Not during times of peace, as fragile as it was. And not all of them for one's own sister.

"I swear she was going to dodge. I don't know what happened; she was supposed to dodge."

Naomi knelt on one knee before her son and rested her forehead against his. "It's all right, Neji. I know you'd never hurt her."

"I should've been able to stop. I should've noticed something was wrong."

"Neji, sometimes horrible accidents just happen."

Neji ripped out of his mother's sympathy and stared into the white curtain separating them from the steady murmur of voices and continuous flux of chakra. His body tensed, curling together as if even the slightest relaxation would send the guilt heaving from his body. "What's the point of being called a genius if I hurt my sister? I should've been better."

Naomi grabbed Neji by the shoulder and forced him to look at her. "You need to drop your ego now. You are absolutely talented and have the potential to be a great shinobi, but you aren't there yet. So if you want to think of yourself as an adult, stop whining like a child that you weren't good enough. You have a long way to go before you'll be as good as you think you are. But learn from this. Learn how to _be_ better."

She kissed the top of his head and pulled him close. For a moment he hesitated but soon fell softly into her motherly embrace. "She's going to be okay, right?"

A weak smile touched Naomi's lips. "If she's half as strong as I know she is, she'll be up and ready to kick your butt in no time."

They waited in an awkward silence. Sitting, standing, sitting again. Every so often Gai would come closer than his distracted comfort and place a hand on Neji's shoulder, but only briefly. And then he would return to his post, looking as nervous and frightened as they were. Naomi did manage to find out Hinata wasn't the only serious casualty of the preliminary matches. It was Lee that Gai beat a path in the floor over. Hours passed and no one came out to give news, good or bad, for either child.

The longer they waited, the more dread filled her heart. Losing Hinata, a girl as dear to her as a daughter, was too painful to imagine, but it was Neji who did it. Naomi didn't even have the luxury to worry about how accidently killing his own sister would affect Neji; she wasn't sure he'd live long enough to suffer that. She couldn't lose both her children. She wouldn't.

The voices began quieting to a low murmur throughout the floor, and Naomi prayed that was a good sign. But whatever hope tempered her fear fled at the ever increasing echo of hurried footsteps on metal stairs. Before she could think of the right thing, the proper Hyuuga thing to do, maternal instinct took over. She yanked Neji out of the chair and pushed him back behind Kurenai. The terror on her face must have been blatant, because Gai left his pacing to stand with them.

"Stay behind them and don't say a word," Naomi ordered and, whether it was from shock or understanding, Neji obeyed.

The ominous thud, thud, thud got louder and louder until the door at the end of the hall swung with sinister leisure to reveal Naomi's worst nightmare. Hyobe led the charge; whatever 'power' Hizashi had as acting clan head was stripped to Hyobe's lackey when the life of the girl he was regent over was in danger. Hizashi and Yumi followed in quick step behind him, Yumi (byakugan active) sprinting ahead to disappear through the white barrier where Hinata lay. Naomi stepped forward to meet them. Hizashi gave her a questioning look at the protective stance she and the others had over Neji, but remained silent.

"What's her condition?" Hyobe asked, as if Hinata were a nothing more than another report for him to be debriefed on.

Naomi forced her voice to remain even. "We haven't heard. They're working on her."

"How long?"

"I'm not sure anymore. Hours." She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Anything to keep the meaning of what she just said from hitting home.

"This is exactly why main family aren't made genin." He turned his head just enough to glare at Hizashi from the corner of his eye. "What exactly happened?"

"An accident during a preliminary match for the individual round," Naomi said before anyone could give a more detailed explanation. "Her heart was damaged."

"What kind of damage?" When she hesitated to answer, Hyobe huffed his impatience. "Was it a weapon? Ninjutsu?"

Naomi nodded to give herself a moment more. "A . . . chakra based attack."

Hyobe narrowed his eyes, focus shifting from Naomi to the two jounin now nearly blocking all view of the boy behind them. "Who did it?"

"Her opponent, of course," Naomi skirted, stepping to the side to obstruct any remaining view Hyobe might have of Neji.

With irritation on his face, Hyobe pushed past Naomi and stared through Neji's protectors to the boy himself. "You were there, Neji. Who was Hinata's opponent?"

Hizashi took Naomi's hand—when she'd fisted it she wasn't sure—and wrapped a comforting, but restraining, arm around her shoulder.

"I was," Neji admitted, a guilty courage steadying his features. "It was an accident. I did aim for the heart, but she was going to dodge—I saw it in her face, she knew to dodge—but something happened and she didn't turn and when I realized it, it was already too late to pull my chakra back. I'd never purposely hurt her; she's my sister."

"Cousin," Hyobe corrected.

"Right, cousin," Neji agreed, much to Naomi's relief. The last thing they needed was to have Hyobe snapping at them for thinking they were main family. As if that could ever be mistaken.

Hyobe pulled Neji from the safety of his unwilling guards and bore a leader's gaze into the already damaged child. "Tell me what happened from the beginning."

Hizashi's fingers clenched on her arm as the realization of what had happened sunk in—and how powerless they were to stop it. All Naomi wanted was to ripped her son from Hyobe's control and hide him behind her, but this was no longer a matter of the chuunin exam. This was now a clan matter, and no matter how much they loved and treated Hinata like one of their family, they were only branch. They were at Hyobe's mercy. _Neji_ was at his mercy.

Neji lowered his eyes, not out of any obedience to Hyobe, but guilt. Guilt that had been growing thicker as the hours passed until no other emotion could be seen on his face. "It started like normal spar, and I could tell she wasn't fighting seriously so I—" Neji stalled, his eyes glancing toward Hinata's alcove protectively. "I know how to get her mad, so I did. The fight got more intense; we were enjoying it. Then I . . ."

Naomi looked to Hizashi for reassurance as a shred of fear broke through the guilt in Neji's expression. Did Neji realize what happened? Did he cause it? Did he finally understand how much danger he was in? Naomi needed an answer—any answer—but received only empty silence.

"Then you what?" Hyobe pressed.

"I . . ." Neji's eyes paced the ground, avidly avoiding Hyobe's penetrating gaze. "I began . . . closing her tenketsu."

Naomi stopped breathing. She had to have heard that wrong. He couldn't have said that. Not to Hyobe of all people. Any pride she might have felt for him was trampled beneath renewed terror. She turned to Hizashi, confusion in her eyes. The only person who could have possibly taught Neji to do that was Hizashi himself, but all she saw was the same honest shock she felt.

Hyobe ignored the truth on his son's face. "Hizashi, how could you—"

"Dad didn't teach me," Neji interrupted. "I taught myself."

All three adults stared, bewildered, at the boy in front of them. There was no dishonesty in his demeanor, and Naomi knew from watching him that even if he were able, Neji was too raw from the day's events to try and hide the truth.

"You taught yourself?" Hyobe repeated, scrutinizing Neji's every twitch and glance.

"Yes."

The righteous authority that Hinata's injuries had brought back to the once head of the family faltered in a way Naomi had never seen. His face was blank. Not controlled, perfect calm, but pure unfiltered disbelief. "And you decided to test this self-taught skill on Hinata?"

"She wasn't the first," Neji admitted, glancing back at the fabric room that Gai had once worried over. "I used it on Lee and Gai-sensei many times before."

No one spoke. Naomi gripped her husband's kimono until her knuckles turned white. This day just got worse and worse.

Finally, Hyobe restored his leader's facade and straightened to full height over his grandson. "Neji, can you show me, point by point, which tenketsu you closed?"

"I think so," he answered hesitantly, looking around for a volunteer to demonstrate on.

As Gai willingly stood in place so Neji could touch points Naomi could barely distinguish at her best, she and Hizashi offered one another what little unspoken comfort they could in a brief caress or loving glance. Everything was changing, and it was all in Hyobe's hands. Would Neji be punished for hurting Hinata? Would he be punished for having skills he shouldn't? Would Hyobe be impressed enough to let it slide? So many questions and no control over their answers. Almost ten years serving as replacements to the main family only to be reminded how truly powerless they were without Hinata. And if the worst happened to her . . .

When Neji finished his replay, Hyobe stepped forward and pressed a single finger to the apex of Neji's shoulder. "This is what stopped Hinata from dodging."

Neji shook his head. "That's not possible. I hit that to limit the chakra going to her arm, it doesn't affect the motor function."

"Normally that's true, but that was one of the first strikes you made. Once it cuts off chakra to the arm it begins to spread to the rest of the shoulder and upper torso. Given enough time, it can stall motor ability."

"I did it to her?" Neji sat back down and buried his face into his hands.

"Yes, it appears your self-tutelage is lacking. Still," —Hyobe walked forward, slowly, as if measuring the worth of his grandson in each step— "your skills are far more impressive than I ever imagined. If Hinata doesn't survive . . ."

The barest wisp of smile tugged at Hyobe's lips for a fraction of a second, but Naomi saw it. That bastard put Hinata in this position. He hounded her to be someone she wasn't. Demanded perfection from someone who was beautifully imperfect. Refused to let her grow in the way she needed. And when she needed him to support her the most, he could only see a chance to replace her with a superior model. All Naomi wanted was her daughter alive and well, and that bastard saw it as an opportunity.

Hatred numbed her skin to bone. Hatred she couldn't fathom any one person being able to survive without it exploding out. Hatred that separated her from Hizashi's safe hold, forced her body into a fighting stance, and pushed her chakra-laden palms straight at the most powerful member of the Hyuuga clan. She didn't even register her would-be victim's hand raising in a way that should have frightened her to her soul. Hatred blinded her, and then so did the pain.

Screams filled her ears, shrieking that burned from her forehead, through her eyes, and deep into the center of her skull. It wasn't until daggers receded from her skin that she realized the screams were her own. Naomi blinked, struggling to see through the brightness. Hizashi cradled her head in his lap, feather light fingers removing her forehead protector and wrapping to expose the bright seal beneath. Neji stood over them, protective and afraid. But it was Sandaime whose hand had stopped Hyobe.

"That's enough, Hyobe. I think a terrified mother deserves some leeway, don't you?"

Hyobe lowered his arm but kept a level eye with Sandaime. "This is a clan matter, Hokage-sama."

Sandaime shook his head and placed a steady grip on Neji's shoulder. Commanding yet gentle. "This is a tragic accident of the chuunin exam, and one that has a very loving family on edge. Perhaps we should all take a step back and breathe."

Hyobe might have been the most powerful Hyuuga, but they weren't in the clan and Sandaime was right: this was a matter of the chuunin exam. Hyobe nodded and turned away, leaving them on the floor without even a gesture of remorse. Naomi knew branchers who attacked the main didn't deserve that much in his mind —she reached up and took Neji's hand— unless they were useful to him.


	33. Revelations

Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

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Neji washed off the dried blood matted to the procession of shuriken wounds going up his arm in a neat line. The ointment Hinata had made for him helped with the pain a little, but the wounds were deeper than his usual scrapes from Tenten. He should have gone to Yumi or one of the other clan healers, but his pride (and perhaps a desire for penance) kept him confined to his bathroom and a roll of bandages. Neji supposed he should be thankful Tenten was as good an aim as she was or that neat row would be all over his body instead of just his arm.

He shouldn't have had any wounds though. She'd been taking it easy since his head hadn't been in training since the preliminary matches. Neither of them had really, not between Tenten's loss, Lee's near fatal match, and Neji's massive blunder (that Hinata and Lee both survived seemed the only bright part of that entire exam, even if there were lingering issues). He'd chalked up their previous training matches —which could only be called pathetic— to a post-crap funk, but today's wounds revealed something a little more serious lurking in his messed up head.

Self-doubt wasn't something he'd ever experienced before. Neji was first in his class since he'd entered the academy, number one rookie, 'genuis' of the Hyuuga clan. He'd always known what to do and how to do it with ease, but in that match against Hinata he _didn't_ know. He _caused_ the problem that led to the accident and didn't even realize it. What else did he teach himself wrong? Was that the only mistake or were there countless more in all the main family techniques he'd been practicing? Every time Tenten threw at him to practice his kaiten all he could think was what didn't he know about it. What had he missed and could it end up hurting her? Killing her? Which ultimately led to his failure to produce a kaiten at all and his subsequent need for medical attention. If he ever told Hinata she just needed to trust herself again, may the gods strike him dead. She deserved more credit than he'd ever known for facing her self-doubts as well as she had for so long and with so many reinforcing those doubts.

But now he had to figure out what to do. It was obvious to him this wasn't just temporary until he could get over everything that happened. Each time he tried to use any of his self-taught techniques he couldn't, or worse he hesitated which usually ended up being more dangerous. He either had to find a way to deal with this or stop using them all together. The latter might have been an option a year ago, but Neji'd already integrated them into his fighting style. That meant he needed to deal with his doubts, and that left him only one real option. He just hoped it didn't blow up in his face.

After re-bandaging his arm, Neji headed out stopping the first servant he passed. "Do you know where Hinata is?"

"I think she's in her study," the young woman answered.

"Thank you and," Neji paused, not really wanting to say it but knowing he had to, "please call my father and grandfather to the training yard. It's very important that I speak with them."

"Of course," she said with a respectful nod of her head before dashing off.

It would take her a little to find both of them, so Neji had a few minutes to get to Hinata before going to the training yard. After everything he'd already put her through, he didn't want her to find out what he was planning second hand. He needed to explain . . . and apologize.

Her door was open; she'd never leave the room with the door open, but she also very rarely left it that way. He waited at the threshold and watched his little sister for a moment. The scary part of jyuuken wounds was that there weren't outward signs of the damage. She looked perfectly normal and healthy to the untrained eye. But Hyuugas know what to look for, like the shallow breaths and slight incessant cough she hid behind her hand. Or the way her jaw clenched whenever a twinge of pain surfaced. The fact she wasn't wearing her normal clothes was another clue. Hinata had plenty of formal wear being heir, but she preferred a shirt and pants to a kimono. She only wore one now to give the healers easy access to her chest each time they came by, which was several times a day.

"Neji-niisan," Hinata called, looking up from her book and forcing her jaw to relax so he wouldn't see the pain in her face.

Neji entered at her acknowledgement and closed the door behind him. "Hey, Hinata, how are feeling today?"

"Better," she replied, as she did every time he asked. Neji never knew if she was telling the truth or just trying to keep him from feeling guilty (well, guiltier).

"That's great," Neji said, playing along so he didn't add too much more stress to her. He took a seat across the desk and slowly exhaled to steady his resolve. "Listen, Hinata, I need to talk to you for a minute."

She set her book down on her desk. "Is something wrong?"

"Not yet," he mumbled almost to himself. Straightening up, he continued, "I need to warn you about something I'm going to do, because it's probably going to affect you and I'm sorry. If there's any other way I could do this, I would, especially right now."

"Neji-niisan, what are you talking about?" Hinata gripped the edge of her kimono crossing her chest and held her breath for a moment, face tense with fresh pain. Her heart was still so weak, and emotional stress tended to become physical stress for her.

Despite knowing he closed the door, Neji still glanced back to make sure. The whole clan was about to find out, but on his terms, not from some eavesdropping passerby. "Know that everything I've done was because I wanted to protect you."

"You're scaring me," Hinata whispered.

"I'm sorry," Neji said. "Manipulating the tenketsu wasn't the only thing I taught myself. I've been working on a lot more."

"You mean . . ." Hinata's eyes widened as she put the pieces together. Her fingers touched her lips in an instinctual calming mechanism he'd not seen her use in years. "You . . . taught yourself? How?"

Neji lowered his gaze, this wasn't how he wanted her to learn about it. He'd never meant to make it seem like he was showing her up or insulting her. "I'd seen Dad use kaiten once, the principle made sense, and after figuring out the tenketsu, the 64 points was . . ." He held his tongue though no doubt she heard the 'easy' at the end of his sentence. "Hinata, I wanted to teach you, so when it was time Grandpa wouldn't be have one bad comment about your skill. And I . . . I wanted to be able to protect you, from anything."

"Still trying to protect me?"

"I never stopped. I'm just quieter about it now."

Hinata looked down and focused on breathing —long ragged breaths that made Neji cringe. The shock was slowly receding from her face, though the pain masked whatever replaced it.

"Why are you telling me now?" she asked once she could breathe a little easier. "What are you planning?"

Neji closed his eyes and fortified himself. He'd already called for them, the wheels were in motion. There was no stopping the truth now. "I almost killed you because of what I didn't know. I can't let that happen again. I'm going to ask Grandpa to train me properly."

"No!"

Hinata's entire body tensed and Neji rushed around the desk as she jerked in a deep, choking, coughing fit. When drops of browned-blood splattered the papers on her desk, Neji was ready to call for a medic, but Hinata held tight to his shirt and shook her head. He held her free hand and waited (ready to dash out at any sign of worsening) until the coughing settled to hard wheezes and Hinata no longer looked ready to collapse. She wiped the small flecks of blood from her lips.

"Don't worry, it's old blood. Fluids settle in my lungs sometimes. Grandma says I just need to cough it up when it happens."

"This is what I mean, Hinata. _I_ did this to you. My —arrogance— did this to you. I have to fix that."

Hinata's hands gripped him tighter, fear blatant in her weary eyes. "Not Grandpa. Tell Uncle Hizashi, he knows them. He can teach you. Just not Grandpa. You're branch; you don't know what he'll do."

"I can't put Dad in that position," Neji insisted. "If Grandpa found out, or the clan, they might think Dad's the one who taught me and that will be so much worse. Dad's the first brancher to be given the powers of the clan head. If it was even _rumored_ he taught his brancher son main family techniques . . . If I tell anyone, it has to be Grandpa."

"But he used the seal on Aunt Naomi," Hianta whispered, showing the same fear and horror as when he told her what had happened. "The only reason you weren't punished was because it happened in the chuunin exam. What do you think he'll do if he finds out you know main family techniques? Please, don't."

"He's not going to kill me or anything," Neji said with more confidence in his smile than he necessarily felt. He was almost positive it wouldn't be _that_ severe. "It's not the old days where every little infraction will get you killed, and Grandpa isn't Hisako who had to make examples to maintain power. If there's a punishment I'll take it, but I _need_ to do this Hinata."

"Why?" she pleaded.

Neji smiled; the irony of what he was about to say didn't escape him. "Because, apparently I'm not as strong as you."

Hinata stared at him, not finding the words to match the confusion on her face.

"I don't know how you've done it for so long, and I can finally appreciate how hard it was for you to go out there without confidence in yourself. And I know it sounds prideful, but this is the first time I've really felt that way and I find I need that certainty. I've been trying, but all I can think is, 'What don't I know?' and 'Is it going to get someone I care about killed?' I'm sorry, Hinata, but the only person I can turn to is Grandpa. I just needed you to know I didn't do this to hurt you or show you up. I hope you believe that."

Neji raised her hand and rested his forehead against it. Such an act might traditionally appear as a show of fidelity or loyalty, but those who thought so would not be Hyuuga. He'd placed her hand against his seal. Perhaps his desire to learn main family techniques came from the blurred line of main and branch in their family, but that line was redrawn the moment Hyobe used the seal on his mother. To let her touch the part of him that separated them was to remind her that, between them at least, the seal didn't matter. No matter what happened. They were family.

Neji released her and stood up. He needed to get to the training yards and face his fate.

"Neji-niisan, wait." Neji was about to argue he needed to go, but Hinata got up and took his hand again. "I'm not as strong as you think. I could face Grandpa because you always supported me. I'm not going to let you go alone."

It amazed Neji that Hyobe never saw just what a great leader Hinata was going to be one day. The Hyuugas had lived too long with clan heads whose first instinct was to end problems with the seal. What they needed to heal the rift was one willing stand beside them and guide them with a gentle hand — not a gentle fist.


	34. When Prying Eyes Can't See

I thank LexKixAss for letting me steal her twins for my story. As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Please review.

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Hyobe watched the family eating breakfast together in the next room. So relaxed —relieved. They'd been through difficult times, but survived. Mother, father . . . sister, brother . . . as perfect a family unit as any in the village. As indistinguishable as any other family. Too indistinguishable. He'd fought so hard to keep them separate, yet even he was having difficulty remembering three of them didn't belong in that house. Neji, too skilled; Hizashi, too capable; Naomi, too loving. They would have made the perfect clan head family. But only one of them belonged in that family, and if even Hyobe struggled to keep them apart, then the clan was forgetting as well.

His decision to train Neji didn't help matters. But the boy had taught himself too much already. Hyobe couldn't let such talent go to waste. He also couldn't risk the branch family believing they could learn such techniques on their own. Hyobe had to maintain that those techniques could only belong to those of main family blood. Neji was unique, but that he came to Hyobe in need of help at least displayed to the clan that the techniques were dangerous and must be taught. That he was technically of the main family bloodline (only one generation out) added to the rarity of his case. Though, in truth, he needed little direction on the basics. Neji may have been concerned, but he'd taught himself very well. He would excel under Hyobe's guidance. And with that tutelage more in the clan would choose to forget that under his forehead protector Neji still bore the seal. They wondered why he was not heir.

If Hyobe left such thoughts to brew the division between main and branch would fade, and no matter what that happy family in there thought, that division had to be maintained. Branch could not be main, and though he'd intended to wait, Neji's revelation now forced Hyobe to remind the clan —and himself— who the heir was.

Whatever pleasant chatter that had drawn smiles to their faces turned to nervous silence as Hyobe entered the room. He stood apart from them, not belonging, as he was meant to be.

"Father," Hizashi said, his voice neutral but his eyes guarded. Beside him Naomi rested her hand on Neji's, the only child she had in reach. It was a defensive instinct, a maternal one.

"Hizashi, Naomi." Hyobe nodded to each in turn. "I need the main house cleared out of all branch family for the next week."

Hizashi and Naomi shared a glance before Hizashi stood and attempted to usher Hyobe back into the other room. Hyobe did not move.

"Father, what is this about?" Hizashi whispered so the children wouldn't hear.

When Hyobe answered, it was loud enough for the entire room. "As I said, I need the branch family cleared out; that includes you, Naomi, and Neji. I'm sure Hinata and I will manage on our own for a week."

"Father," Hizashi pressed, still silently imploring Hyobe to speak as softly as he did. "What is the meaning of this? Hinata's still recovering. She doesn't need you stressing her like this."

"There is one thing that only Hinata is allowed to learn," Hyobe said, pushing Hizashi aside with an unimpeded gesture. "I'm getting older and the opportunity has presented itself. I need privacy to teach her."

Fear filled his son's eyes. Fear and the need to protect as Hizashi looked on the confused girl still sitting at the table. "No," Hizashi said, "she's too young. She's not ready for that. Father, let her heal, give her a few more years. Not even Hiashi learned it until he was eighteen."

"And if Hiashi were here to teach her, I would. But he's not. I'm the only person who's left to teach her, and as much as I'd like to think I'll be here forever, I can't risk it." Hyobe moved to stand behind his granddaughter and felt her stiffen when he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, gather what you'll need. I expect the house cleared by lunch."

As much as Hinata wanted to go be with the others as they reluctantly did as ordered and began packing up what they'd need for the week, Hyobe held her back with him. It wasn't so much a gesture for her or Hizashi, Naomi, and Neji (they wouldn't break the family bond because of such a show). It was for the servants running about preparing the house, the branchers who had gotten so used to Hinata being part of that family. It was for them to return to the branch house and tell what was happening and remind the clan who the only legitimate heir would ever be.

"Do you know what I'm going to be teaching you, Hinata?" Hyobe asked once the house was empty. It was the first thing he'd said directly to her.

Hinata nodded but refused to look up at him. Once again unable to meet him as she should. "The only thing Uncle Hizashi can't learn is the seal."

"That's correct. Every branch child must be sealed between the ages two and four, depending on the development of their chakra pathways. And in one week, Izumi and Kenji's first born, Ran, will be sealed. She is two years old. I guarantee you will never forget her for the rest of your life, because _you_ will seal her."

"Me?" Hinata finally looked up to him, lips trembling ever so slightly. She was too young he knew, but he had no choice.

"Unless I feel the attempt would cause harm to the child, yes. Ran will be your first sealing."

Hinata gripped her chest as the fear moved past her face and filled her whole shaking body. It was what he had feared, what he had tried his best to fix, but it seemed only experience would help her.

The head of the family bowed to no one, but as heir she was by right his equal and so Hyobe knelt down so she could not look away from him. "You think me cruel, Hinata, and you would be right. I have been cruel to you. Demanded much and censured your failures. Part of that was because you needed to excel and weren't. But I also needed to harden that softness in you that everyone else loves so very much. The seal separates us, not only for those who wear it but also for those few of us who must place it. We must be able to withstand all the branch's resentment and anger and still remain strong, because they need someone to hate. They need a person that they can direct all that anger about the seal towards, and who better than the person who takes their child from them and causes it pain.

"Right now you aren't capable of that. And I fear this is going to be exceptionally difficult for someone with such a tender heart. That is one of the reasons I have tried to get you to accept cruelty. But you never did. You let it fester and grow like a cancer inside you, weakening you. And if you can't harden yourself against one person, over the decades the clan will slowly eat you away to nothing."

Unable to turn away, Hinata dropped her gaze and curled into herself. Distancing herself from him and his words. She didn't have the disposition to lead. She wanted too much for people to like her. How would she ever take a child from his parents and seal him?

Hyobe sighed and stood up again. "If you were anyone but the heir you would be . . . wonderful."

Hinata looked up —slowly, as if she couldn't believe what she heard— and on her face was surprise, uncertainty, and an expression he'd never witnessed before: hope. If only she weren't heir.

"You are kind, compassionate, and have the ability to forgive even the most egregious wrong against you without holding hate in your heart. If you were anyone else, those are traits to be commended, but they are not traits for a clan head. I had hoped you'd eventually take after Neji with the way you idolized him when you were young, but as you got older . . . I thought giving you to Hizashi was better; I had forgotten how to be a father, having spent so long thinking only what was best for the clan. I thought a child raised in a family would be better for the clan. But perhaps I shouldn't have brought them to the main family, then the temptation wouldn't be there."

"Temptation?" Whether it was from one of the first compliments he'd ever offered or the honesty he had to give her to prepare her for the sealing, Hinata didn't pull away from him.

"The temptation to see you as one of them, because you would be the perfect second child and Neji the ideal heir. Besides being skilled, he has the practicality and resolve to handle the pressures and difficult choices that are demanded of a clan head, while you have the compassion and empathy to temper his judgment with mercy. That is the ideal sibling pair for the main family. And the more you both fit those roles, the harder it is to not _want_ those roles to be filled. Neji may be what the clan needs as a future leader, but it's not possible, and it's important everyone remembers that. Those who bear the seal cannot command it. It's time you are seen as the heir."

Hyobe motioned for Hinata to follow him through the empty halls. "The seal that you are aware of, that the clan knows, is only half of the sealing. The branch family receives the seal that can be activated, but the clan head receives one as well, the one that activates it."

"But the main family is never sealed," Hinata said.

"Not all seals remain visible once placed," Hyobe explained as they entered his study. "If all it took to activate the seal was a hand sign it would be a liability. A second seal is passed from clan head to heir that connects them to the branch's seal. That is what allows the clan head, and the clan head alone, to activate the seal."

He led her to a large ornate trunk and opened the lid. Placing his palm against the underside, Hyobe released a short burst of chakra that seeped into unseen cracks in the wood. He pressed lightly on the revealed panel and felt it give. Inside rested an old scroll, as old as the Hyuuga clan itself. Chakra filled lettering protected it from prying eyes should it ever be taken from the safety of the clan.

"Only someone bearing the seal given to the clan head can open this scroll," he explained, motioning for Hinata to kneel before him. Carefully he removed the physical seal, while the unseen chakra yielded to his own and allowed him to unroll the aged parchment. "This is the only written teaching of the seal. Once you are made clan head it will be your duty to keep this and teach it to your first born. We will be going over this meticulously, because even the slightest error in placing the seal can cause immense pain or even harm to the child it's being placed on. Pain is a part of the sealing, but we try to limit that to only what can't be avoided."

He turned the partially unfurled scroll so that Hinata could examine its contents and waited for her reaction. She was quiet, but she was always quiet; that alone told him little. The tentative curiosity in her gaze was surprising, as was the small glimmers of recognition when she came upon a facet she understood. But there was something in the tenseness of her face, the slight biting of her lower lip that kept her from leaning closer. Finally, without daring a glance up at him, she asked, "How much does it hurt?"

"More than any clan head wishes to inflict on his people. Some will scream. They all will cry. You must prepare yourself for that, because you must be resolved. You cannot show them pity or empathy. If they see those, all it will make them do is wonder even more why you aren't stopping it. It will cause them to hate you more. At least when we are resolved they understand this is for a purpose: to protect the clan."

With a gentle touch, Hinata edged the scroll open wider. She still refused to look at him. "Will mine hurt?"

"Some. Not as much as the branch's; it enters different pathways," Hyobe answered, modestly pleased she wasn't recoiling. He observed her interest in the scroll scrupulously. There was still hesitation, but that was an emotional reaction: the repulsion gained from living too closely with the branch family. But sneaking into her eyes was a more intellectual interest in the mechanics laid out before her. Hyobe hadn't expected that. "Do you understand any of what this scroll says?"

Gingerly, Hinata nodded. "It's showing the pathways in the brain that it connects to. Parts enter through byakugan's main pathways, the rest enters . . ." Hinata opened the scroll further, her brow furrowed in confusion, as if it were a question on a test she knew the answer to but couldn't fully remember. "I understand why it enters into the occipital lobe, since that's the primary pathway that feeds byakugan, but why does it connect so strongly with the brain stem? None of the visual cortex is located there."

A slight, unexpected smile formed on Hyobe's face. Hinata, he remembered, had been trained by Yumi for a while in basic medical jutsu. She'd studied her mother's books like they were holy. Her jyuuken and her leadership may be lacking, but Yumi's teachings had unintentionally prepared her to learn the seal. She'd probably have the dexterity and precision needed to place it as well. He had expected her to resist and fight learning the seal, and yet on an almost academic level she appeared intrigued. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but —perhaps— it was a start.

"Do you know what the brain stem does control?" Hyobe asked, all censure gone from his voice.

Hinata looked up, not at Hyobe but searching her memory. "A bit of motor function . . . movement . . . but mainly vitals . . ." Hinata nodded. "Yes, the brain stem controls breathing and heart rate."

Hyobe didn't need to answer her question. The realization widened her pale eyes and she retreated from the scroll. What curiosity that had been gaining power in her countenance vanished beneath the horror of the seal once more, or perhaps it was the disgust that she'd been interested in it.

"That's how you can kill someone with the seal," she whispered.

Hyobe nodded. "That's right. That's the part of the seal that the clan head can activate. The physical pain occurs where the seal itself is placed, but the actual damage is located in the brain. A short burst is only temporary pain, prolonged activation ultimately leads to destruction of the brain stem, which controls vital functions of the body."

"Isn't there any way to have the seal without the pain?" Hinata pleaded, her gentle weakness asserting itself better than any of the confidence she needed.

With measured intent, Hyobe moved the scroll closer to her and continued to unroll it. "As you will learn, Hinata, there isn't."

* * *

Isamu looked at the clock for the twentieth time in the last hour; for some reason time just refused to move. Osamu leaned back against the gate wall, eyes closed, though Isamu knew his brother wasn't sleeping. He just wasn't in the mood to joke around today; neither was Isamu, really. They did their best to be the clan's sense of humor at times, but when the entire clan 'wasn't in the mood' it was hard to stay chipper. The reason for the clan's seriousness didn't help any, especially for them; they knew Hinata too well. They cared about her too much not to wonder how it would affect her — change her.

Isamu sighed and checked the clock again. It hadn't changed.

"Stop worrying so much. It's only been three days," Osamu chided lightly, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"I'm not worrying," he lied.

Osamu snorted. "You've been fussing and fretting like a little old lady."

Isamu muttered beneath his breath and shifted to look out at the empty road.

"Case in point," Osamu continued. "You need to relax a little. We can't do anything to help her until it's over."

"Do you really think anything _will_ be able to help her? Sealing someone at her age? You really think she's going to be able to handle that?"

Osamu opened his eyes finally and gazed toward the main house. "I'm more worried what Hyobe-sama will do if she can't go through with it. I mean can you imagine Hinata-sama taking a kid from his parents?"

"So in other words she's damned if she does and she's damned if she doesn't," Isamu joked, though it was a bitter jest.

Osamu shrugged. "Like I said, nothing we can do until it's over."

He knew what his brother said was true, but for all their ability to stand guard all day, the twins weren't inactive people. When there were problems they preferred to do something about it, not just stand there and watch. Osamu had a bit more patience at least. This waiting didn't suit Isamu at all.

Isamu was checking the clock for the thirtieth time when Osamu inhaled a deep hiss. "This will be interesting."

"What?" Isamu asked, craning his head around to see what his brother did. It made him cringe.

Heading straight for the gate were Kiba and Shino, Akamaru padding along at their feet. They'd heard from last night's watch the two had come by to see Hinata. The guards hadn't told them what was going on (that was clan matters), but no doubt a second refusal was going to raise some questions.

"Hey," Kiba called out as Akamaru trotted ahead to sniff around just inside the gate. The pup did it every time they came by, searching for Hinata's scent amidst the numerous Hyuugas coming and going each day.

Osamu held out a casual hand to stop them from crossing into the compound, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry guys, Hinata-sama can't see anyone today. Actually, she won't be seeing anyone for the next few days."

"What the hell's going on in there?" Kiba huffed. "Why can't we see her?"

"Is she in any danger from her wounds?" Shino asked.

Isamu swore Kiba's ears actually perked up at that. "Wait, she said she was healing?"

"Hinata-sama's healing fine," Isamu corrected before they had a couple angry dogs on their hands. "Clan issues are going on right now. That's it."

"Clan issues?" Shino repeated.

"Yeah," Osamu said, "And I'm afraid that's all you're getting from us. If Hinata-sama tells you, that's up to her."

Kiba growled and shoved his hands into his pockets. "When's that gonna be?"

"Saturday," Isamu said before his brother could offer a more vague answer. "Be here about noon."

Osamu quirked his brow at Isamu but remained quiet until Kiba and Shino reluctantly departed. "Do you really think that was a smart move? Hinata-sama might not be up to visitors."

"And you think she'll want the clan? Even Neji or us? We might not judge her, but we know what it means. They don't. They won't care what it means to the clan; they'll only care about her."

Osamu shook his head and chuckled to himself. "You just couldn't wait till it was over to help her?"

Isamu smiled. "I'm a very impatient person."

* * *

For the first time, Hinata truly surprised Hyobe. She may have hated the seal and a certain level of revulsion never left her face, but she was talented with it. Yumi's medical training had given her an understanding of chakra pathways beyond a normal jyuuken user, and when she wasn't directly studying the part that was activated, Hinata showed genuine interest in the intricacy of the seal's design. After the first day she even began asking him questions without fear softening her voice. Of all he expected her to show an aptitude in, the seal had been low on his list. Hyobe had to wonder if even Hiashi had taken so well to learning it; his son had been skilled no doubt and older than her, but the seal required a certain delicacy which Hinata excelled at. He had not praised her so much in all her years of training as he did that week.

That was perhaps why he resisted so much as the week progressed. Hyobe had intended to place the main family seal on her early in the week, to get it over with as it were, yet as she opened up to his teaching he continued to push it off. He knew once he placed that seal, once she remembered that it would be her duty and her right to inflict pain on her clan if needed, all that willingness she showed, the ease with which he finally interacted with his granddaughter, would disappear. And the father who'd lost one son and pushed the other away —the grandfather unable to show care to a girl not up to her title— did not want the short time to end. For when they left that house, back to the ever-watching eyes of the clan looking to him to know how ready their heir was, the familial bond he'd sacrificed once before for the sake of the clan would again be gone, and all the praise he had for her now would be forgotten in the wake of her deficiencies.

But their seclusion was limited, and too soon he had to finish what he'd begun. They had to return to the clan, and the good of the clan always came first. Yet he was right. The openness she'd finally offered him faded along with the seals on her skin and the pain he inflicted. She rubbed her skin, not as if it hurt, but as if something terrible was beneath it and she wanted it out. Because of her age, he told himself . . . because he would have no other chance . . . because she deserved to hear it just once in her life . . . he knelt before her, took her face in his hands, and kissed her on her forehead. A single grandfatherly gesture to last a lifetime. "I am sorry. I had envisioned such a different life for you."

Hinata looked him in the eye, so rare an act it silenced him. "I'm sorry I didn't live up to it. I've been trying."

"I know," Hyobe said, standing up and returning the distance between them that had been welcomingly absent that week. "Unfortunately trying isn't always an option for you. And today is one of those days. Today you must succeed in being the heir to the clan. You must be resolved to do what must be done. You cannot shirk this duty. You cannot cry before them and ask their forgiveness. The child must be sealed, and you must show them in your every action that you are competent to do it with as little suffering as you can offer. And Hinata," —he smiled as he gazed down on the nervous girl beside him— "you are. You _can_ place the seal; now convince them."

"What do I say to them?" Hinata asked, her gaze pleading with him to tell her some magical way to make this better.

"Most won't expect anything said. They know why they've brought the child there and they know what it will go through. Just ask for Ran to come with you. Show her strength, so she can trust that you know what you're doing. Any show of uncertainty will frighten her and worry her parents." Hyobe pushed Hinata's back so she stood up straight, head raised. "Do not look down. Silence your face. When they look at you they shouldn't be able to read anything. Just take Ran by the hand and lead her to the sealing room."

Hyobe watched her with an un-shown anxiety. The sealing itself he was confident she would be able to do, but facing the family —taking the child— that was what he feared would break her. The first sealing is always an ordeal, but if she didn't hold her own against them, the clan might not learn to trust her in the sealing. It was hard enough for them to trust her to lead them one day, but if they feared for their children tensions would rise.

"If you have trouble keeping calm, put your hands behind your back and fist them," he suggested, having no magic to offer other than distraction. "Focus all your tension there to keep the rest of you stable."

Hinata nodded. There was no point in drawing this out any longer. He'd already received word that Izumi and Kenji were on their way; they should be arriving at any moment. The sooner they began, the sooner this event would be over. He motioned for Hinata to follow him through the empty halls that would soon be bustling with servants again. Hyobe had been prepared to help Hinata through a relatively routine exchange of the child, but before they even opened the door leading to the front he knew this was going to be anything but routine.

"No, I didn't agree to this! This is not what you told me!" a woman's voice screamed from the yard.

Hinata looked up to him, confusion in her already nervous eyes. Hyobe hardened his face, holding her back until she took a deep breath, put her hands behind her back, and did the same. It wasn't perfect, but at least she wasn't cringing. So long as she didn't turn around and show everyone her hands shaking they might just get through this.

Beyond the shoji doors waited Kenji, Izumi, and Ran. The hysterical voice they'd heard from within belonged to Izumi, an out-of-claner who'd married in, and the near-frantic woman clutched her daughter to her chest as if everyone around her was trying to rip them apart. Beside them Kenji struggled to keep his wife calm, fear leaking into his eyes with every word she screamed.

"Kenji, Izumi," Hyobe said, hoping to at least not agitate her anymore.

"She is not taking my child," Izumi snapped, taking a step back as they emerged.

Kenji's terrified gaze flashed to him before reaching out to plead with his wife. "Please, Izumi, you know she has to be sealed."

"No!" Izumi shrieked. "I agreed to a lot when I married you, because I knew how much this clan means to you, and I agreed to this idiotic sealing because you said it was necessary to protect the clan —that she'd be in more danger without it— but you told me she'd be sealed by the head of the clan, by someone who knew what they were doing. I will_ not_ let her be a test for a child who's never done it before!"

Ran whimpered and cried in her mother's arms; the woman didn't even realize she was making it worse for her daughter by fighting it. This was more than he'd intended Hinata to have to face. Hysterical families were rare, but even long time clan heads had to tread carefully to keep the entire branch family from blowing up because of it.

"Izumi, if I thought Ran was in any danger I wouldn't let Hinata do this."

She glared at Hyobe with the kind of open hatred only those married into the clan dared show him. "I don't care. I'm not letting a child do this to my daughter. You do it or I don't hand her over."

This was not going well. No parent wanted their child to be the first an heir seals, but Hinata's age made it even more difficult. Normally an heir didn't learn until they were nearing the age to take over the clan; whatever their actual abilities, they at least _look_ competent to handle the task. It was easy to understand why a parent, especially an out-of-claner who didn't fully understand Hyuuga traditions, would find her age disqualifying no matter her actual skill. Kenji must have agreed, since though he attempted to calm his wife, he was not willing to take the child from her. He didn't want Hinata to seal her either.

Perhaps learning the seal would have to be enough of a demonstration for the clan until another child, a fully Hyuuga child, was ready for the sealing. A transfer was difficult enough, but the parents gave them willingly. If he forced that girl from her mother's arms there would be backlash from the branch family. The branch might think he enjoyed flaunting his power over them, and yes he had the right, but sometimes it was better to avoid the conflict.

"I can do it."

Everyone's eyes fell on the girl he hadn't expected to speak a word. Hinata stood, back straight, arms relaxed at her side. Her face was beautifully blank, only the slight contracting of the muscles in her neck betrayed the tension she felt.

"I'm young," she said, her voice surprisingly even, "but I know the seal. I understand it and I can place it. Please trust me. I'll take care of her."

Hyobe waited, watching the family's reaction. Izumi didn't appear to have much faith in Hinata's assurances. Kenji, however, examined Hinata very cautiously. His eyes stayed low, passing from Hinata to his daughter still clinging in Izumi's protective hold. That uncertain gaze finally settled on Hyobe — an unspoken question being asked. _Is she ready?_

Hyobe answered with a short nod, leaving Kenji to stare his options down. With soft words and tender hands, Kenji held his wife close and whispered in her ear. She shook her head and her face screamed more than her voice, but Kenji slowly pulled his daughter away.

"Trust _me_," Kenji said as their daughter screamed and cried in his arms. He stepped toward Hyobe, but a quick glance from the old clan head reluctantly turned him to Hinata.

"Kenji, please," Izumi called, her body rigid.

Hinata raised her arms to take the child from him, not a muscle shaking with weakness. "I'll take care of her."

* * *

Hinata couldn't run. She had to walk, calmly, with a study stride. The clan was watching. She had to . . . she had to maintain. And she had to get out. Get away. From everyone . . . from their eyes.

And yet the compound seemed to go on and on. With people she didn't want to see her. Neji . . . Naomi . . . Hizashi . . . her family . . . she wanted her family but she couldn't look at them. Because she was blank, and she had to remain blank or she'd break down in front of the entire clan. To get out she'd have to see more she didn't want to. Isamu . . . Osamu . . . they were so good to her. She didn't want them to see her. They were all branch and she . . . wasn't. She wasn't.

Hianta stopped short of the gate and simply stared for a moment. A pleasant yapping got louder as Akamaru bounded for her, so happy to see her after what she just did. Hinata slowly picked him up, running her fingers through his soft white fur.

"Hinata, it's about time," Kiba called from the gate.

She didn't look away from him. All her focus was on him and Shino as she walked, faster and faster toward them until she was there and past and running away with Akamaru still in her arms. Their screams and footsteps followed her, but she had to get away from the compound as fast as she could. Because just looking at them made her feel safe, and she wanted so much to just let go of the control she'd forced herself to maintain up to then.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kiba overtook her and forced her to stop, immediately backing up. "Wait, why are you crying? What's going—"

"What did you do now, Kiba?" Shino questioned when he caught up.

"I didn't do it. She was like that."

Hinata clung to Akamaru until he whined in her arms, small paws pressed against her chest. She couldn't stop the tears now that they'd started, not after holding everything in for so long. Seeing Izumi protect her daughter, taking Ran and not being able to even comfort her. "She kept screaming, 'Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!' the whole time. She screamed and cried, and he had to hold her down just so I . . . so I could . . ."

Shino and Kiba exchanged a nervous glance before Shino asked, "What's happened?"

"He— I— She was only two and I . . . I sealed her."

"You mean . . . sealed?" Kiba motioned to his forehead.

She nodded, staring, begging them not to hate her the way the branch family would. Pleading for something she couldn't name, but was there —somewhere— with them. "I told them I'd take care of her, but I didn't. I put the seal on her and I couldn't even tell her it would be okay, because I knew it was going to hurt. I knew it wasn't going to be okay for her. Nothing I did helped. Nothing stopped her screaming. I just had to do it. And he praised me. He praised me for doing a good job, and I liked it because he never praises me. But it was for _that_! How can I look at them now? Any of them."

Not knowing what else to do, Hinata dropped her head against Kiba's shoulder and wept. She just wanted to stop feeling like the monster in the story.

"Let's go."

They both turned to Shino. "Wh—what?"

He looked west, towards the village line. "I need to train. It would be better away from here, and I could use help. It may even take until the final matches."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed, quicker than she'd ever seen them agree before. "Yeah, you can't do that without us. Let's get out of here. Right, Hinata?"

That was it. That was the something she wanted. Escape. Even if it was just a short time —a day, a week— it was enough. She needed to get away.

"Let's go."

* * *

Hyobe was used a certain level of tension between himself and his son's family, but when they returned to a house empty of their would-be daughter it was downright hostile. They were not as pleased by Hinata's accomplishment as he was. But then they were branch. They wanted to keep her thinking she was the same as them. To know she finally understood the necessity acting main family was more than he anticipated. Her quick departure was unfortunate, though not unexpected. He knew it was going to be hard on her to accept the sealing, but had he known what it was going to be like, Hyobe would have done the sealing himself. A first sealing should be as routine as possible, not the difficult families or the children that fight the entire time. It just made Hinata's ability to control herself that much more impressive. It also made her need to get away and release everything she'd suppressed that much more understandable.

It was nearly dinner time when one of the gate guards came in. Hyobe never cared much to tell them apart, though he kept tabs on them here and there since Hinata had a passing friendship with them. He needed to make sure their well-known antics didn't do anything to embarrass the main family. The young man's gaze quickly dropped when Hyobe looked on him, though the nervousness he showed made Hyobe follow him to Hizashi's study. It had been more than the anxious respect he normally received from the branch family.

Neji was with Hizashi, and neither was pleased to see Hyobe enter behind the guard.

"Is something the matter?" Hizashi asked with political precision, his eyes on the guard but his attention on Hyobe.

The guard bowed and kept his head low once he straightened. Judging by Neji's slip of confusion the act was more for Hyobe than Hizashi. "Aburame Shibi came by to inform us that Hinata's team has left the village to help his son train for the chuunin exam. He did not say when they intend to return."

"But Hinata's still healing," Neji said. "She shouldn't be out of the village."

Hizashi rubbed his temple with two fingers, an act of exasperation more than aggravation. "I'm sure she knows what she can and can't do. Still—"

"Leave her be," Hyobe ordered, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "You were correct, Hizashi, having something outside the clan may be very good for her right now. Give her time to collect herself."

"She wouldn't need time if you hadn't forced her to seal someone," Neji snapped before Hizashi could stop him.

"Neji," Hizashi started, but Hyobe held up a hand to silence them both.

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't forgotten your place, Neji. Your stunt with main family techniques has made it difficult for the clan to remember who the heir is. It was necessary _everyone_ be reminded only Hinata can and will be heir. Perhaps it's time you remembered you're branch and started acting like it."

Hyobe left the shocked faces of his family behind. Neji was a grandchild to be proud of, without question, but the clan had to come first. And roles had to be maintained, no matter how harsh they may seem.


	35. Facing the Consequences

It took me a while to decide how to handle this scene, but I believe it is the best way. As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

* * *

Tenten glared at the red-roofed building in front of her, then as if realizing her anger was misplaced, snapped it to Neji instead. "This is stupid. You're being stupid."

"I've made my decision," Neji repeated, not wavering against her continued attempts to sway him.

"It's a stupid decision," she spat. "How long have you worked for this? All the risks? You're just going to let it be for nothing?"

"It's the right decision."

"You didn't do anything to her. It's not your fault. Don't waste this."

Neji smiled and headed for the administration building. "Tell Lee I'll come see him tomorrow."

Tenten meant well, but she didn't understand. She couldn't, not without having grown up in the clan. It was his fault. He understood that now, understood the consequences of his ambition. And it was time to set things right.

The halls were quiet, save for a few shinobi reporting in from missions. Neji headed straight for a simple, paper-filled desk where a young secretarial assistant sat working. Neji nodded to the young man before speaking. "I would like to speak with the Hokage. It concerns the chuunin exam."

"I'll see if he's available," the man said and left for the large office behind him. After a moment, he returned. "Hokage-sama will see you."

Neji thanked him and entered the Hokage's office. Sandaime was alone, a rarity in itself, and waited for the door to shut before offering him a withered smile. "What can I do for you, Neji?"

Neji clasped his hands behind his back and bowed. "Respectfully, I wish to withdraw from the chuunin exam."

There was an atmosphere around old shinobi leaders that younger generations had yet to learn. A sense of control that exuded from them, as if they had witnessed so much in their lives that absolutely nothing was capable of surprising them. Sandaime had mastered this technique. As if Neji had merely commented on the pleasant weather, Sandaime leaned back and watched him.

"You're a favorite to win, so why would you want to withdraw?"

Neji waited a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Recent events have made me realize that I am not ready to be a chuunin. I wish to withdraw and take the chance to mature for the next exam."

"Would this recent event be the accident at the preliminary matches?" Sandaime asked, his voice calm and steady.

"One of them, yes." Neji tried to remain as composed as the Hokage himself, but he was glad Sandaime wasn't a Hyuuga. The guilt was unfortunately obvious whenever Hinata was mentioned.

"And the others?"

"Clan matters, Hokage-sama," Neji answered diplomatically.

"Clan matters remain clan matters until they interfere with your duties to the village. The chuunin exam isn't simply for your promotion, it's a show of strength for the village, one that helps keep the peace." Sandaime leaned forward, resting his chin against his interlaced hands. "If you want me to accept your withdrawal, I want a better reason than clan matters."

Neji resisted, his mouth tightly closed. Hyuugas did not discuss clan matters—especially the seal—outside close friends or the clan, and that was a difficult rule to break.

"Neji, I have been Hokage for a very long time. I was there when your uncle was sent to Kumogakure. I know about Hyuuga matters, and anything you say will remain with me."

The instinct to remain silent struggled to keep its claws in Neji, but he slowly forced it back. Sandaime was right. If anyone knew the Hyuuga's secrets, it was the Hokage. "My grandfather forced Hinata to learn the seal because of me. I upset the balance of main and branch families, and he used the seal to restore it. I don't agree with him, but the fact is that my actions were the cause. I didn't mean for it to happen, but I never thought about the consequences of my actions beyond myself."

"So this is to punish yourself?" Sandaime asked.

Punishment? Neji looked down, unwilling to meet the old man's gaze. "Only partially, but that's not the full reason I'm asking to withdraw."

"And what is?"

Neji took a deep breath and forced his eyes up. He would face up to his decision. "A chuunin can be in charge of a team. A leader who must be able to think of everyone. I have always thought the way to protect someone is to be better than everyone else. I rushed forward as fast as I could, and never once looked to see what it would do to the people I was trying to protect. I'm not ready to be a chuunin. I need to learn to slow down and pay attention. I need to realize I can't— I shouldn't do everything by myself."

A flicker of a smile pulled at Sandaime's lips and for a moment a shrewd silence masked his face. "That is an apt examination of yourself, but just because you are in the chuunin exam doesn't mean you are made chuunin. If you participate, I would agree to not promote you and the village would still have its show."

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing but air escaped. That wasn't what he had anticipated and none of his mental rehearsals had a prepared reply. It sounded reasonable, and yet the very thought twisted Neji's stomach and left his jaw clenched. "With all due respect, I still wish to withdraw."

"Why?" Sandaime pressed, his eyes narrowing like a dagger at Neji.

Neji straightened his back, vainly hoping the formality would lessen the emotion biting its way to the surface. Shame already claimed a place in his pale eyes. "I've been praised all my life for my skill, but because of this exam I've done nothing with that skill but make my sister suffer. I don't deserve . . . I don't want to be praised for that. Please, let me withdraw, and next time I will be the best and not at anyone's expense."

Sandaime relaxed back into his chair, a sly old smile beamed pride back at Neji. "I believe you will. You already understand something that shinobi far older than you sometimes never figured out: being the strongest doesn't necessarily make you a better shinobi. I'll grant your request and look forward to the next chuunin exam."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Neji bowed low and let all the relief flood him. Head still low, Neji took his leave of the Hokage and headed back out into the late afternoon sun.

It was the right thing to do. No matter what Tenten, Gai, or any of his family thought, there had to be a consequence for what had happened. It wasn't simply about being punished, though he felt he deserved it. Feeling guilty changed nothing, not even himself. He had to _do_ something to change himself. And he had to face a consequence that affected _him_, not someone else. It was too easy to place the blame of Hinata's pain on their grandfather. It was Hyobe's fault for forcing her to use the seal; he was the one who compounded her suffering.

But that wasn't true. Hyobe's actions weren't right, but his words were. Neji was the one who ignored the rules of the clan. He still believed he was in the right—those skills would be used to protect the clan one day and he deserved the chance to learn them—but he thought the backlash to his actions would be on him alone. That was his mistake. That decision _did_ affect the clan, and he should have anticipated that. He had to stop thinking he could be a shield and bear the pain for them all, for Hinata, because a shield could be a weapon too. Removing himself from the chuunin exam was both penance and choice. It was the consequence that he had to face and a goal to work towards. Strength not just for the sake of others, but considering them too. And he would dominate the next chuunin exam.

Neji walked along the outer wall of the compound, following the peaked roof of the main house barely visible from the street, and he smiled. His reasons were his own, but Neji couldn't help imagining how nice it would be to disappoint his grandfather. Hyobe was so looking forward to showing off Hyuuga superiority in front of the village; it was going to taste sweet taking that from him.


	36. What's There to Say

As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

* * *

It felt strange to be back in the village. It had only been a couple weeks but somehow everything had changed within Hinata. She finally understood her grandfather. She didn't agree with him or like his methods and she would never be the kind of clan head he thought was appropriate, but she understood his reasons and the kind of pain he refused to let himself feel in order to continue on. And that's what scared her. She never thought she'd understand him, never wanted to. And yet now she understood why he always tried to separate her from the branch family, and what hurt the most was part of her agreed with him. She didn't know how to look at her family now, knowing what she did, remembering that little girl's screams. She didn't want them to look at her like they looked at Hyobe.

At the door a friendly smile appeared as Hana popped her head around the corner. "Hinata, Kiba, Shino, dinner's ready," she said, deftly avoiding a litter of puppies running around her feet. "Go tell Mom."

"Mom! Dinner!" Kiba screamed, making Hana's eyes roll before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

The Inuzukas were loud, obnoxious, and sometimes made Hinata feel like she wanted to run and hide in a closet just to be alone, but right now she absorbed the awkward love they showed to each other in content silence. They'd only returned from training that morning. She didn't do much, her lungs and heart were still weak, but Kiba and Shino worked very hard and Hinata observed and analyzed each sparring match. Besides helping Shino see his openings, it also gave her something to think about other than the clan.

When she did finally open up to them about what happened there was no cringing, no flinching, no judgment, and she would never be able to thank them enough for that. She sat there, Akamaru curled up in her lap as she cried, and Kiba and Shino each holding a hand to offer their presence, nothing more. Even now, a day before the tournament when Shino should surely go home and relax, he remained in a house that on the best of days got on his nerves and on the worst made him physically tense, all because Hinata wasn't ready to return to the compound. Her family knew she'd be at the tournament, so despite returning a day early, she wanted this one last night somewhere she felt normal. If there was one thing Tsume was good at doing, it was treating them the same as her own children.

"What, did the Aburame break your legs while you were training?" Tsume growled from the stairs. "Maybe that's why he made it to the finals and you didn't."

"My loss was a fluke," Kiba snapped, getting in his mother's face. "I'd like to you see get a wiff of that fart and keep on your feet."

"Defeated by flatulence!" Hana called from the kitchen, a chuckle in her voice and a chorus of high-pitched barks heckling him on.

Tsume smacked her son out of the way and headed for the kitchen, ruffling Hinata's hair on the way. "At least _you_ had a decent excuse, Runt." Kiba's mother always called Hinata that, and strangely she found it rather endearing.

Hinata smiled and followed them to the table. The sharp smell of spice on the fish was buried beneath a dozen different animal musks, and a layer of shed fur stuck to most of the furniture as she sat down. She might have thought twice about it if she'd been wearing her kimono, but she still wore the old clothes Hana had lent her before they left the village. A bit too big, but they covered everything that needed to be covered and she didn't have to fuss over keeping it clean. Beside her Shino wiped off his seat, only to stare at his now furry hand with serious contemplation.

"Come on now, be more Aoi than stalker," Tsume complained and plopped into her chair in a huff.

"I'd rather not consume your dogs," Shino replied in an even tone, which earned him a series of growls from the litter now content beneath the table.

"Then you should've sat on them," Tsume howled with laughter. For all she complained, Hinata could see Tsume had the same kind of affection for Shino as she offered Hinata herself. Maybe not a nice affection, but it was always there in her face.

Hana ignored the fuss going on behind her and set out the last of the meal for the pups on the floor before taking a seat herself. The brindle colored hounds-to-be scrambled over each other to reach their bowls of chopped fish. Inuzuka dogs didn't eat dog food. The sound of slopping jaws and snapping teeth filled the little dining area with the kind of happy excitement only children (or puppies) could produce.

Sometimes Hinata wondered what it would be like to be born to another family, to not be a Hyuuga. More so these last few weeks. What she imagined was usually like the Inuzukas, loud and playful and full of people — not servants, but family. If her fantasy was quieter, then the mother was more like Aoi, flighty and overly loving. There wasn't a white eye anywhere, staring at her, knowing that she'd hurt them. No one in the family hurt anyone else in her fictional world.

Tsume was halfway through a liquor-fueled tirade about how Shino needed to dress less like an Aburame, which having seen him fight without his jacket before Kiba and Hinata vigorously defended their friend, when a knock sounded from the front door.

"Kiba, go tell them to screw off, we're eating," Tsume growled and downed the rest of her sake.

"Yeah, yeah." Kiba shoveled in a large glob of rice into his mouth before heading to the door. A moment later he returned, but his expression had lost the playful annoyance of the dinner conversation. "Hinata, Neji's here. I'll tell him to leave if you want."

Hinata watched her happy fantasy crack and shatter back to reality in that one sentence. She wasn't ready to face them yet; she'd deluded herself into believing she was safe from the inevitable awkwardness of meeting her family until the following day. How would they react to her now? She didn't think they wouldn't love her anymore, but things would be different. She didn't want it to be different.

"Hinata," Kiba said, his voice softer since the others had gone silent waiting for her reaction. "Do you want me to take care of him?"

She felt all their eyes on her, wondering what she'd do. Of all of them, Tsume's was the most intense, that feral glare like a predator across the table. As odd a feeling as it was, Hinata didn't want to disappoint Tsume after all the masked kindness she'd shown. Tsume saw her as the runt of the litter, and the runt needed to bite harder.

"No," Hinata finally said, sliding her chair out. "I'll be right back."

The one-room walk to the door felt excruciatingly short. She wasn't ready, but she was going to do it. She'd run away for long enough and it wasn't like when she left; Hinata was calm and had dealt with her own guilt over the sealing. What happened now wasn't her fault. It was all up to Neji.

And how good it was to see him. He smiled as she closed the door behind her, and his eyes discreetly observed her for any signs of weakness. Neji didn't wear his usual outfit, opting instead for black training scrubs. Though judging by the slight dampness of his hair, he'd probably come straight from training with Hyobe. Hinata hadn't realized how much she'd missed her brother, all her family really.

"Hi, Neji-niisan," she said, not sure how to begin.

Now that they were away from any prying eyes, Neji stepped in and wrapped his arms around her. There was no hesitation or awkwardness, all she felt was his strong arms holding her close as if she might run away again if he let her go. "It's good to see you, Hinata. How are you doing?"

"I—I'm okay." Hinata fidgeted in his hold, confused but not wanting to break free. "I've been taking care of my condition. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun kept an eye on me."

Neji didn't let go. "I don't know what you went through with the sealing, but you're my sister and the seal will never change that. I need you to believe that."

Hinata remained silent. If she spoke she was sure to break down into tears, and the last thing she wanted was to return to her team crying. Kiba and Shino would probably have gone hunting a Hyuuga if she did that. But all she'd wanted to hear was that her family wouldn't look at her like she was main family and, though Hizashi and Naomi might feel differently, to know that Neji wouldn't gave her such relief her body physically relaxed in his embrace.

"I love you, little sister," he said with more honesty than his ego had allowed the last few years.

Hinata took a deep breath and pushed out of his hold. A smile she didn't expect when she walked out burned bright on her face. "Thank you."

"Come home, Hinata. Mom's been worried sick, especially when we got word you were in the village but didn't show up."

"How'd you know we were back?"

"You kidding me? Mom and Dad had every guard at the village gate ordered to tell them the minute your team returned. We wanted to go after you, but Grandpa thought you needed some time away from us."

"Grandpa did?"

Neji's mouth thinned as it tended to every time their grandfather came up. "Yeah, after everything he put you through _then_ he decides to show some concern. As if that made it better."

But it did. Not that Hinata would ever say it aloud, especially to Neji. Hinata had feared Hyobe would think her too weak again for running away after the sealing. She still didn't like that the seal was what connected them but it was all she had, and to know that her escape didn't ruin that achievement in his eyes meant a lot.

When she didn't say anything, Neji urged her again. "So you'll come home, right?"

Hinata shook her head and took a step back to distance herself from him and show that she meant what she was about to say. "No, Neji-niisan. I'm staying here tonight. Shino-kun and I both are. Tsume-san's already agreed to it. We're going to stay together before the tournament tomorrow."

"Hinata," Neji drew out her name, "Mom and Dad really want you to come home."

Hinata didn't want to admit to Neji that her fantasy was still preferable to going home. No matter what he'd said, it was. She needed that one night to finish collecting herself before seeing Naomi and Hizashi. She'd planned on it and somehow having set a date made her believe she'd be capable of facing them tomorrow. "We're just staying together to support Shino-kun."

She had no doubt Neji saw the lie in her eyes. It wasn't for Shino's support but her own. "Hinata, please. Come home."

She smiled but held her ground. "Tell them I love them and I'll see them at the finals tomorrow."

Neji's eyes lowered in unhidden guilt. She didn't want him to blame himself; this was something she needed to accept and deal with herself, and his sympathy — as much as she didn't want to think it — wasn't something she wanted or allowed herself to deal with. If there was one thing Hyobe taught her about the seal, it was that she needed to find her own way to handle it without worrying about anyone else. No one else was going to understand it or feel it the way she did, and she had to be strong for the clan. Her way was with her team.

"Don't worry, Neji-niisan," she joked, trying to change the subject, "I'll still cheer for you tomorrow, even if you get paired with Shino-kun."

She'd wanted to change his demeanor, but she wasn't prepared to see reservation in his eyes. The only sound between them was the click of running claws on the floor inside the house. What had happened while she was gone?

Finally, Neji looked at her again. Reservation had turned to resolve. "Hinata, I withdrew from the chuunin exam."

"What? Why? You earned it. It's your chance to be chuunin."

"I don't want to be chuunin. I've taken an honest assessment of myself and come to the realization that I'm not ready to be chuunin."

"No, Neji-niisan, if this is because of me—"

Neji held up a hand to stop her. "This is something I need to learn in my own time. I'm not giving up anything. Next chuunin exam I will succeed, because I'm going to work until then to fix my deficiencies."

"But you've worked so hard for it." It simply made no sense no matter how she thought about it. Neji wanted to be chuunin so much, it had to be his guilt. "Please, go ask Hokage-sama to re-enter."

"You're right," Neji said, turning to look at the house behind her. Silhouettes of the others moved against the curtained windows except for one, short with spiky hair standing sentinel, waiting for her return. As her brother's gaze found Shino's image, a wry smile crossed his lips. "Shino's a better choice. You and Kiba would've been, too. A chuunin needs to think about how to take care of their team. I might've worked hard, but it was all for me. I never once thought about anyone else. It's time I take things slow and focused on my teammates before myself. Someone has to help Lee get back on his feet."

"Are you sure?" Hinata pressed.

"Are you sure you won't come back home?" He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'll respect your decision if you respect mine. We both have our reasons."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "All right."

"Okay then, I'll sort everything out with Mom and Dad. You'll go find them before the fights start, right?" Hinata nodded in reply, and he gave her one last quick hug before heading out. "See you tomorrow."

She didn't go inside until he was down the street. The others were still in the kitchen, all except the pups running around the living room. Though considering the Inuzukas can talk to their dogs, they may have been the spies in place of someone more obvious. Everyone's eyes focused on Hinata as she entered the dining room, scrutinizing every line on her face and twitch of a muscle.

Shino stepped away from his place at the window and calmly approached her. He didn't ask her anything. He just stood there, watching, and after a moment he nodded. He understood — she didn't need comfort.

"Thank you, Shino-kun."

"Hey, what'd he do?" Kiba snapped, now completely distracted from the possible Hyuuga drama.

Hinata grinned and threw her arms around Kiba in an uncharacteristic but well-deserved hug that froze Kiba in place. "Thank you too, Kiba-kun." She never would have handled the sealing without them.

A sharp catcall echoed through the small dining room as Tsume and Hana fell into laughter. "That's my boy! Catch yourself a Hyuuga."

Hinata didn't know she could go that red.


End file.
